


Don't Fear the Fall

by emblah01



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Minor Character Death, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-25
Updated: 2014-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-08 05:35:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 40,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4292700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emblah01/pseuds/emblah01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Annabeth and Percy have been best friends since they were six. Nothing more, and nothing less. But what happens when you combine a car, a road-trip across the country and the stress of finally moving out? Chaos. AU, no gods. Rated T for some mild sexy stuff. Title stolen from OneRepublic's 'I Lived'. Complete!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Fear the Fall

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted on ffn.net, multiple chapters, but i'm posting here in one big chunk... the original story is still on the webiste, so feel free to read it there. my penname is emblah01.
> 
> disclaimer: i do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. i only own this plot.

/

"Is that the last of them?" Annabeth asked, wiping her brow with the back of her hand after she set the last cardboard box in the trunk of her Subaru.

"Yep," Percy said as he slammed the back door closed, wiping the dust that had transferred from the car to his hands onto his jeans. "We are done packing!" he exclaimed, giving his best friend a high-five.

"At least for today," Annabeth corrected, leaning against the window of the car. The summer sun was only just coming up, but it was already becoming hot and humid as usual for the late July weather. "We'll still have to unpack and pack our apartment when we get-"

Percy threw an arm around her, shushing her. "Don't ruin the moment with your wisdom, Wise Girl."

She shot him a look and shoved his arm from her shoulder.

Frederick Chase jogged down the driveway, his thinning blond hair flying behind him. He stopped in front of them with a forced smile on his face. "All done, then?" he asked.

"Uh huh," Annabeth answered vaguely.

"The boys are still asleep," he told her. "I figured it would be best that they didn't say goodbye." He ran a hand through his hair, his brown eyes looking at the ground. "They wouldn't have let you leave." He voice sounded strained.

Annabeth sighed, knowing that he overly emotional father was doomed to act like this. She wrapped her arms around him. "Don't worry, Dad. Percy and I are going to be back for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's only a couple of months, not even a year."

Her father laughed, his chest vibrating, and he pulled away. "I know, I know. It's just… College, you know? I can't believe my baby girl is going to college. And all the way across the country." He grabbed her shoulders. "Annabeth, you got accepted into NYU. Don't you know how amazing that is?"

She laughed and pushed his hands off of her shoulders. "I know, Dad. You've only been telling me that since I got accepted, like, six months ago."

"I know, I know," Frederick brushed off. "I'm just so proud of you."

"I know you are," she said simply, shrugging.

"Percy!" a voice interrupted. Annabeth saw an older woman with long, wavy brown hair flying behind her, running across the lawn of her neighbor's yard in an oversized sweater and pajama bottoms. She recognized her as Sally Jackson, Percy's mother.

Sally threw herself into the arms of her son, giving him a long hug, before pulling away and slapping his arm lightly. "You were supposed to wake me up when you did!" she exclaimed, giving her son a sharp look.

Percy had the decency to look abashed. "I'm sorry, Mom. I was going to, but I woke up at 5:30. I didn't want to wake you up so early."

Mrs. Jackson shook her head, rolling her eyes. "I understand the intention, but, please, honey, I wanted to help you pack. I was scared you had left without saying goodbye." She looked at the car full to the roof of cardboard boxes, duffel bags and suitcases. "Though, it seems that you and Annabeth got it done fast enough." She flashed Annabeth a smile that she quickly returned.

Percy sighed, ruffling his hair with one hand and sticking the other in his pocket. "I'm sorry, Mom."

Sally rolled her aqua eyes, patting him on the cheek. "Just be safe."

"Of course I will," Percy scoffed, pulling Annabeth to his side. "I mean, I've got Annabeth with me. How could anything go wrong when she's planned it all out?"

Annabeth shoved him. "Shut up," she retaliated.

Sally shook her head fondly. "How on earth you two get from little, itty bitty six-year-olds, to the mature, responsible adults you are." She wiped a stray tear from her eye. "I'm just so proud of you two."

"Oh, Sally," Annabeth said and brought her in for a hug. Annabeth made eye contact with Percy and motioned for him to join, which he promptly did. They stood there, Sally sniffing and Annabeth smiling sadly and Percy's arms big enough to wrap themselves around his two favourite girls.

Sally pulled back, wiping her reddened blue eyes on the sleeve of her sweater. She swallowed the tears that were sure to come when the pair started their journey across the country.

"Right, okay," she began. "Please be safe. I'm serious. Stick together and don't wander off on your own in strange cities. Use your GPS to find your hotels; I've booked them for you, here's a list-" She handed them a piece of paper. "-But most of all-" Sally looked at the two of them on the eyes, firmly but kindly. "-don't let anything come between you two."

"Mom-" Percy interrupted with a whine.

"No, I'm dead serious, Percy. You're going to be in a car, all alone for a good week, and that can cause tension. And you know how you two can get." She smiled at them sadly. "I don't want you guys to ruin your friendship over something stupid, okay?"

"Okay," Annabeth agreed. "I couldn't live without this Seaweed Brain anyway," she said fondly and patted Percy on the head. He swatted her hand away and stuck his tongue out at her.

"Sally's right, you know," Frederick put in. "As per usual, of course." Sally laughed and nudged the man she had known for years. "You guys butt heads over the stupidest things. Don't let a stupid thing ruin what you've got going."

The sun was could clearly be seen in the East now. Its brilliant rays cast golden beams of light across the houses of their suburban neighborhood. Percy glanced over at his best friend and was once again struck at how amazing her hair looked when bathed in the golden, buttery light; it looked like spun gold, twisted into the most delicate of braids.

He shook his head, snapping himself out of his reverie.

"We should probably get going," he said, coughing. "We've got a seven hour drive ahead of us, and I want to get there before supper."

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, we really should." She gave her father one last hug, wrapping her arms around his thin frame and trying to memorize his scent for when she got homesick; the faint smell of cologne, old paper and the ocean air. She closed her eyes, letting a few tears leak out onto her cheeks. "I'm going to miss you," she mumbled.

"I'll miss you too, sport," he said. "Oh, the places you will go."

She pulled back and wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "Say goodbye to the terrible twins for me?"

He smiled at her sadly, his brown eyes prickling. "Of course. I'll say goodbye to Helen for you as well."

Annabeth nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. She was really doing this; she was moving away to go to her dream college. She was leaving her childhood behind to run away with her best friend. She was going to become an architect. That was mildly terrifying.

And with that thought, she hopped into the driver's side of her car and slammed the door shut.

Percy pulled away from his mother's tight embrace.

"Okay, mom," he mumbled, irritated by how thick his voice sounded. "I have to go. Annabeth's waiting and…" He trailed off, his eyes stinging as he noticed the tears running down his mother's cheeks.

"No, no, no, mom. Mom, don't cry. If you cry then I'm going to cry and I'm going to be a hot mess for the rest of the day and I'll chicken out and just end up living in your basement for the rest of my life," he rambled and embraced her again, burying his face in her hair. He had long since grown taller than her, but he still managed to hug his mother like he was a little boy and could still fit in her lap.

"I'm so proud you, Perce. You're going to do great things," she said and pulled away, touching his cheek with her wrinkled hand. "Now, you'd better get in the car or Annabeth is going to chew you out."

"Goodbye, Mom," Percy said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she whispered as his door slammed shut and her baby boy drove off into the distance.

/

"Wow," Annabeth murmured. It had been silent in the car for about five minutes. "We actually just did that."

Percy laughed, leaning his head against the headrest of his seat. "I know… I can't believe we just left our childhood behind. Christ, that's weird to think about."

"I mean, think about it. On our driver's licenses, it won't say we're from 2230 Bay Road anymore. It'll be from New York." Annabeth shook her head, grinning in disbelief.

It was silent once again. The only sound was the engine of the car and the slow breathing of the two best friends. Percy leaned over and turned on the radio. Some top 40 tune began quietly form the speakers.

"Do you want to plug in my phone?" Annabeth asked, shifting and pulling her phone from her back pocket of her jean shorts.

"Sure," Percy shrugged. Her grabbed the Smartphone and plugged it into the car. He quickly typed in Annabeth's password (0818, his birthday) and began scrolling through her music. "Do you have any requests, milady?"

"Mmm… Just put my drive playlist on shuffle," Annabeth decided and grinned as the indie music filled her car.

She hummed along quietly, and turned down one of the main roads of San Fransisco. "Do you want to grab some breakfast?"

"Yeah, sure, I could eat." Percy leaned his head on the window and grinned. "We are officially moved out of our homes. We have no rules. We could, like, I dunno, smoke and drink all we want and no one would kick us out of our house. Because it's our house."

Annabeth shot him a look. "But we won't because that would be stupid." She smiled at him to show she meant no harm and was only teasing. "But I get your meaning. We have no ties anymore… Frick, that's weird."

"But just a little awesome," Percy grinned.

They pulled into a McDonald's drive thru and turned down the music. Glancing at Annabeth's phone, Percy realized it was only 7:30 in the morning. He relaxed; they had time.

"Hello, welcome to McDonald's, can I take your order?" came a voice from the speaker.

"Hi, can I get two BLT bagels and two coffees, please," Annabeth called into the speaker and fishing her wallet from her pocket. Percy put his hand on her arm and handed her a twenty-dollar bill.

"Is that all?" the voice asked. It was clear this person was female and from another country, due to the accent that laced each of their words exotically.

"Yep," Annabeth called, fiddling with the bill in her hands.

"Okay, that'll be ten-fifty-six at the next window."

They pulled up to the next window and paid for their meals.

As they pulled onto the California highway, munching on their bagels and slurping their still-too-hot coffee, Annabeth glanced at her best friend. He looked so at peace with himself, leaning against the window, coffee in hand and his lips quirked up in a smile. She smiled to herself and tried to focus on the road, not how lovely Percy looked with the sun reflecting in his raven-coloured locks and his eyes shining as they mouthed the words to one of his favourite songs.

"Let's make a toast," Percy declared, sitting upright and facing her.

"To what?" Annabeth asked, turning down the music once more so she could hear what he was trying to say.

He grinned. "To us, and to the next chapter of this adventure called life. And that I get to spend it with you, best friend, because there is no one I would rather embark on this adventure with."

"To us," Annabeth agreed, and they touched coffee cups.

"Huzzah!" Percy cried, and Annabeth laughed.

"Huzzah."

/

"So, what do you want to do for lunch?"

They were driving down the highway, passing through large mountains through man-made tunnels and valleys in the rock. If one observed closely enough, one could see the layers like little stripes from the past years of sediment being compressed into the sandy rock that now made the rolling hills.

They didn't have to observe the green foliage and tall pines as they whipped past the blurring green down the road. They had a destination to get to.

"Just grab some stuff from the cooler back there," Annabeth gestured wildly and uncaringly to the backseat of the car that was packed full with boxes and bags.

Percy sighed and unbuckled his seatbelt. He leaned over the middle armrest of the front seat and braced himself against the headrests of the seats. Annabeth shied away from him, mainly because his butt was waving dangerously in the front seat and he had already almost sat on her twice.

"Percy!" Annabeth scolded. "I'm trying to not get into an accident right now and your ass in my face isn't helping me at all."

"But what a fine booty it is," Percy groaned from the back and made his way not-so-nimbly to the front seat with two pops and some cheese buns in hand.

Annabeth wrinkled her nose at him. "No."

"Rude," Percy said through a mouthful of the pastry.

"So is talking with your mouth full," she pointed out. Percy rolled his eyes.

Annabeth snapped her fingers at him and he handed her a Coke, the lid of the plastic bottle already removed. She took a long sip from it before smacking her lips and twisting the cap back on.

Percy was singing along softly to some happy-sounding song playing from his phone and tapping his fingers to beat on Annabeth's knuckles. "You remember when we first met?" he asked suddenly.

"Yeah," Annabeth smiled. "That was… one of the worst and best days of my life."

"Hey!"

Annabeth gave him a withering look. "Well, to be fair, my dad did forget to pick me up from my first day of grade two."

Percy grinned. "You looked so sad, standing all alone by the teacher." He gave her a mock-sad look and she punched him in the shoulder.

"It was terrifying!" she protested. "I didn't know if I was ever going home!"

Percy snorted. "And then I, your knight in shining armor, saved the day and brought you home with me!"

"No. Your mom was my knight in shining armor. You just stood beside her and then asked me why I was crying, like the insensitive dingus you are."

"I was six!" Percy defended. "Six-year-olds aren't exactly tactful!"

"They aren't knights in shining armor either," Annabeth snickered. "Cheese bun me."

"Please?" Percy corrected.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, please and thank you and whatnot."

Percy handed her the cheese bun and she took a large bite. "I think we only have another hour on until Elko, right?"

Annabeth glanced at the GPS. "Yep, about that. I guess it depends on traffic. What's the hotel again?"

Percy shuffled around, searching for the piece of paper his mother had listed the hotels on. "Erm, Elkridge Garden Inn," he read, squinting to decipher his mother's handwriting.

It was silent once again. Percy took this time to really look at his best friend of twelve years. She looked so carefree at this moment, what with her honey blonde curls weaved into a complex braid Percy couldn't imagine having the time to do. Her grey eyes were sparkling with contentedness and her lips quirked into a smile.

He couldn't help but be infatuated with her. He couldn't help but fall for her loyalty and intelligence. He couldn't help but like her with such a burning passion it made him want to grab her waist and pull her so close she could never leave his arms.

He had noticed his infatuation with her when his friend Jason had told he was whipped. Originally, Jason had been talking about his girlfriend at the time, Charlie, but he had locked eyes with Annabeth and realized something growing in the pit of his stomach, threatening to burst. He had never felt that with Charlie.

She looked so beautiful. Her long legs were covered only by short jean cut-offs and she was wearing an old heather tank top. Her rough and slender hands were tapping a nonsensical rhythm against the steering wheel.

"What are you staring at?" she asked, not taking her eyes from the road.

Percy's eyes went wide and he shook himself out of his Annabeth-induced trance. "Nothing, you just, um, you have… There's a bump in your braid and it's bothering me." There was no bump in her braid, but he silently thanked whatever god was out there he had thought of some sort of excuse.

Her hand reached up to smooth it out. "Here," Percy offered and leaned over and tucked a random piece of hair into the French plait.

"Thanks," Annabeth said warily. He was acting weird. She stared off into the distance and noticed the gleaming lights of an approaching city. "It looks like we're almost there." She grinned.

"Finally," Percy groaned. "I have to pee so bad."

Annabeth laughed. "I could have gone my whole life without knowing that."

/

"The reservation should be under Jackson."

"Right." The receptionist was curvy Latina woman with large, bejeweled glasses. Her face was kind and her hair was pulled into a professional-looking bun on the back of her head. She typed something into her computer. "Ah. Right here. You are Percy, I assume?"

Percy leaned onto the counter. "That would be me." Annabeth forced herself to look away from his arms and bit her lip. Her friend had turned into a man when she wasn't looking.

"Okay, we have you down for one night in a single queen bed room. Is that right?" she asked.

"Wait," Annabeth interrupted. "One bed? Am I hearing this right?"

The receptionist glanced at her computer again. "Yes, I'm afraid so. Do you need a room with two beds?"

Annabeth nodded quickly. "Yes, that would be the best."

"No problem, I'll see what I can find that's available." She scrolled down the screen, gnawing on her lip. She looked at the pair with pitying eyes. "I'm afraid we're completely booked for tonight. I'm so sorry. We can, however, send up a cot for an extra twenty dollars."

Percy sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Yeah, okay. I guess that'll have to do."

"Alright," she said and gave them a pitying smile. She handed them two plastic cards the same size as a debit or credit card. "Room 252. To the right are the elevators and turn left and just keep going. Enjoy your stay!"

"Thanks," Annabeth said and grabbed her rolling suitcase and backpack. She jogged to the elevators to catch up with Percy who was already waiting at the elevators.

His arms were crossed and he was tapping his foot impatiently.

"That was weird," Annabeth commented. "You'd think your mom would have booked us a room with two beds."

Trust me, Percy thought angrily; she knew exactly what she was doing.

Percy had confided his mother his feelings for Annabeth a year ago, after she saw him just staring at a picture of her (he knew it was pathetic; Jason reminded him of this everyday). It was just like her to try and set them up like this. She was probably having a grand old time laughing about this back in California with Paul.

"Yeah," Percy answered vaguely, trying to hide the pink blush growing on his cheeks.

"She just must have clicked the wrong button when booking or something," Annabeth decided as the elevator doors dinged open.

"Must have," Percy agreed and they stepped into the cramped metal box. The doors slide closed and they began moving upwards with a lurch. Percy sighed and leaned his head against the wall of the lift.

The doors opened, revealing a long, cream-painted hallway. The carpet was patterned with blue and green swirls over black. It was elegant in the cheap, hotel way.

"I think we're just down here," Annabeth said and pointed down the hall to the left. They silent for a while, the only sound being their rolling suitcases and their footsteps. Not to mention the occasional groaning coming from a room. The pair tried not to be disturbed.

"Is something wrong?" Annabeth asked, finally. She fiddled with the hem of her shirt as they approached their room. Percy fetched his key from his pocket and unlocked the door.

"No, why would you think that?" He held the door open for her and she passed under his arm.

"It's just that you've seemed pissed since we got here. Did I do something?" Annabeth threw her suitcase on the bed, stretching her arms over her head.

Percy followed her in suite. "No. Oh my god, no. You didn't do anything. You've been nothing but, well, you know, perfect since we got in the car and…" He trailed off, realizing that he had been rambling. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, it's nothing. I guess I'm just a little weirded out by the fact that we no longer in San Fransisco."

"I get it." Annabeth opened her suitcase and pulled out a pair of board shorts and bathing suit top. "I don't know about you, but I'm going swimming. You're welcome to join me, Mr. Fish."

She grinned at him and closed the bathroom door.

Percy let out a rush of air, rubbing his face. "I might just take you up on that offer."

He rooted through his suitcase before pulling out a pair of swimming trunks. Sighing, he pulled them on, shoving his previous clothes unceremoniously into the front pocket of his bag.

"Can I come out?" Annabeth asked, her voice muffled form the sound of the door.

"Yep," Percy called, popping the 'p'.

When the door opened, Percy was under the impression that he had been knocked in the stomach by an angry bull. She took his breath away. Sure, he had seen her in bathing suits before, when they were younger, but he had never seen her in something so revealing.

Helen was incredibly strict on what Annabeth could and couldn't wear, and had always said 'no' to any sort of bikini top or anything that showed more than what she would on a regular day. But, since Helen had no sort of pull on her anymore now that Annabeth was eighteen, she had picked up a little bikini top when shopping for clothes with her friend Piper. It was plain and black, simple with a halter-top and a thick band that tied at her upper-back.

It certainly wasn't as revealing as some she'd seen at the store; only connected by thin pieces of string that looked like they were going to break at the slightest pull.

She exited the bathroom cautiously, her arms wrapped around her stomach, which wasn't flat by any sense of the term. It wasn't huge, per say, but it didn't look like those of the other stick-thin girls at her school.

She wasn't sure how she felt about this, and debated grabbing a shirt to throw over herself. Her boobs didn't look big enough and her stomach looked fat. She pursed her lips.

The look that Percy gave her when she stepped out of the bathroom made her cheeks turn the brightest pink she was pretty sure existed. His mouth was open and his eyes wide. Suddenly, he snapped his mouth shut and shook his head.

"Um, uh… Ready to…" His eyes trailed down to her chest and he quickly looked back up again, clearing his throat. "Ready to go?" His voice cracked. God, he sure wasn't the definition of smooth today.

Annabeth shook her head. "Checking me out, Seaweed Brain?" She wasn't sure where the sudden confidence had come from, but she wasn't complaining when she saw the look on his face.

"No, of course not! Nope, I am… Not checking you, um," he rambled and turned red. "You're laughing at me," he whined.

Annabeth grinned through her guffaws. "Of course I am. You're hilarious."

"You're an ass." He poked her in the stomach and she screeched.

"Percy, I swear to god, you had better not start tickling me or you will never be able to make babies ever again," Annabeth said sternly, crouched over in her bathing suit and clutching her stomach like he was going to attack her.

Percy backed, away his hands held up in surrender.

Maybe she was overreacting; maybe she looked fine in the swimming top.

"Okay, let's go. I'm starting to suffocate under your ego." She grabbed a towel and room key and opened the door. Percy followed close behind her, throwing a towel over his shoulder.

The pool was just down the hall from their room. The sound of delighted shrieks of children and running water could be heard from outside. Annabeth slid the key into the slot and opened the door. The smell of chlorine and feet was disgustingly familiar to Percy.

He grinned. He hadn't been swimming since his last swim meet at school, and was now bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet in excitement.

"Easy, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth laughed. "We still need to sign in."

"UUUGH!" Percy groaned. "I wanna get in water!"

"You're acting like a child," Annabeth admonished.

"I am a child," Percy said, rubbing his hands together excitedly. Annabeth shot him a withering look like, Don't you dare embarrass me.

"Names, please," the boy at the register said. His voice was nasally. He was clearly younger than them, around fifteen or sixteen, with a bad case of acne and hair that kept falling into his eyes.

"The room is under Jackson," Percy said. His voice was a rumble compared to the high-pitched one of the employee's.

The boy jotted something down on a piece of paper. "Room number?" He looked incredibly bored.

"252." Percy tapped the room key impatiently on the counter of the desk. He looked irritated. Annabeth bit her lip.

"Okay, here are your wrist bands. Don't take them off if you plan on coming back to the pool." He waved at them, like he was telling them to go away.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, but ignored the blatant disrespect. She placed the towels on a chair and took a running jump into the deep end of the pool. She tucked her legs into herself and held her breath as she crashed into the cold water. She sunk down and pushed herself up to the top of the water with her foot. She broke the surface and searched for Percy.

He was grinning beside her, his long hair plastered to his ecstatic face. This was his place, the water. He was completely free here.

Annabeth laughed and pushed his hair from his eyes, slicking it back Draco Malfoy style. "You look ridiculous," she said, still playing with his hair.

He faked a frown. "You're a jerk," he pouted and dunked her under water.

She came back up, spluttering and coughing. She met eyes with a laughing Percy and glared at him. "Oh, it is on, Jackson!" She jumped on his back, hooking her ankles around his waist and attempted to push underwater. Unfortunately, as Percy was going under, he grabbed her waist and managed to pull her with him.

"AH!" Annabeth shrieked as she was pulled under, kicking and wriggling in Percy's grasp. Finally, she managed to kick him in the gut and swim away to the wall.

Percy popped up beside her a few seconds later, still grinning but rubbing his sore abdomen. "Never mess with the three-time state swimming champion, Wise Girl. Especially not in his home-turf."

Annabeth made a face and splashed water at him. He couched as he swallowed some, and threw an even larger burst of water at her. It was continuous, and ongoing splash war, until Percy had Annabeth in a grip with her arms spinned by her sides, him splashing water in her face.

"Truce!" she cried. "I give! Truce, I give!"

Percy let her go, smirking at her. "Wipe that smug look off your face, Seaweed Brain. You know you only won because you have an advantage, both in location and size."

He stuck his tongue out at her, and she grinned. He dived into the water and popped up beside her, where she had moved once he let her go.

"You're like a fish, Percy Jackson," she laughed.

"Yeah, but I'm your fish."

She wrinkled her nose. "I think I'd like to return you then."

"Rude," Percy remarked and hugged her. His arms made their way around her back and hers around his shoulders. She smiled into his shoulder. He was soaked and slightly cold, just as she was.

She pulled back and crossed her arms over her chest. She felt someone tap her shoulder.

Two girls, both looked like they were in their early teens, were grinning at the pair excitedly.

"Hi?" Percy asked from behind Annabeth.

"We just wanted to say that you two are, like, the cutest couple ever," one of the girls said.

"Yeah, totally," grinned the other girl.

"Oh, we're not- I mean he's great but-" Annabeth stuttered.

"Yeah, we're just f-" Percy began to agree but was cut off.

"Oh, our mistake," the second girl said.

"Perhaps one of you should fix that," added the first and they ran away to the other side of the pool.

Annabeth looked at Percy sheepishly. "So…" he said awkwardly.

She shivered suddenly and glanced at the clock. "It's almost six. Do you want to go get something to eat?"

Percy shrugged. "Sure. Do you just want room service?"

Annabeth mimicked his shoulders. "Meh. Whatever you want to do is fine."

"Okay," Percy clapped his hands together. "Room service it is."

When they got up to the room, the cot had already been set up for them, beside the bed and made impeccably.

Percy got up from the bed he had been resting on for the past five minutes and searched for the menu on the small, wooden desk by the television. He scanned it and called out, "Is pasta linguini and tomato sauce okay? And some chocolate cake after, of course."

"That's fine," Annabeth called from the shower. The room smelled like steam and her shampoo; like warm citrus fruit.

Percy dialed the number on the front of the menu. He ordered them food and then checked his emails and other various social media, something her had been neglecting all day, because data was expensive and he was waiting for the free wifi of the hotel.

The water was turned off and Annabeth exited the bathroom with her hair wrapped in a towel and already her pajamas; old shorts and one of Percy's shirts he had left behind from the many times he had crashed on their couch after a night out.

"Bathroom's all yours," she said, plopping on the bed and turning on the television.

He set his phone down and went to have a shower. The water was warm against his chilled skin and the smell of his shampoo was a million times more pleasant than that of chlorine and pool. He heard a knock at the door and Annabeth talking to a man. The room service was obviously here.

The door was shut and he could hear Annabeth place the trays that had been brought in on the table.

He rinsed his hair one more time and shut the water off. He toweled himself off and slipped on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt.

"Food," he said in monotone and sat down across from his road-trip companion, who had already began arranging the food on the table. Her plate of pasta was open, but untouched and his pizza was in front of his chair, still covered in plastic wrap. "Thanks for getting this set up," he said and took a bite of the cheesy goodness.

He groaned in delight.

Annabeth laughed through her food. "It's surprisingly good, huh?"

Percy nodded fervently. "I want to marry this pizza."

Annabeth grabbed her glass. "To a long and happy marriage of Percy and his pizza!"

Percy laughed and took a sip of his water.

They continued to talk as they ate, laughing and happy.

Annabeth finally glanced at the clock, long after they had finished their food, but were still sitting at the table, talking.

"It's almost eleven. We should probably get to bed. We have to be up by at least nine tomorrow."

Percy nodded. "I'll take the cot."

Annabeth scowled. "No, you won't. Don't try and be all noble on me."

"I'm not!" Percy sighed. "You were driving all day, Annabeth. It's the least I can do."

"And you'll be driving tomorrow!"

"Then, I'll take the cot tomorrow if needed. Don't argue with me on this."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

They were both standing now. Annabeth's arms were crossed angrily and her hip was cocked out the side and Percy's lips were pursed into a thin line.

Finally, Annabeth let out a sigh. "Fine, take the damn cot. But I'm taking it tomorrow."

She threw her bag off of the bed and crawled under the covers, covering her face with the blankets as if she could shut out the world by doing that.

Percy groaned silently and punched his pillow. He always managed to piss her off, even if he was trying to do her a favor.

Without a word he turned off the light and crawled under the blankets, the cot creaking underneath him.

"Annabeth?" he called out into the dark. He was met with nothing but the sound of her slow breathing. "Annabeth, I know you're not asleep."

She rolled over onto her back, staring at the ceiling. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have-"

"I'm sorry too. I overreacted. You don't have to say anything, Perce."

"Goodnight, Wise Girl."

"'Night, Seaweed Brain."

/

"Percy!"

The voice was incredibly unpleasant. He buried his head in his pillow and groaned.

"Percy, we have to get going if we're going to make it to Wyoming today."

No, he thought that he should just sleep for just a little longer. His bed was so soft and warm, so much better than the outside.

A hand gripped his shoulder and shook him hard. "Percy, get up, you dork!"

"Unnng!" he grumbled and opened his eyes. Annabeth was crouched in front of him. She looked like she had been awake for a while. Her hair was already brushed out and she had changed out of her pajamas.

"Get up, sleepyhead," Annabeth said, not unkindly, but her voice lacked tenderness.

"Wha' time issit?" he asked, sitting up in the cot.

"Eight-thirty."

"Jesus, why am I up so early?"

Annabeth scoffed and handed him a paper cup of coffee. "I've been up since six-thirty Percy. And I walked eight blocks to Starbuck to get that for you. So get up, you butt."

Percy took a sip of the hot drink, smiling slightly as he noticed that she had gotten it with the right amount of milk and sugar. Just the way he liked it.

"You're crazy, but thank you." He pulled himself out of bed and stretched, his back popping. He grabbed the coffee from the desk beside the cot and took another sip.

"It was nothing, peasant."

Percy shot her a look, stripping out of the shirt he had slept in. "'Peasant' isn't really much of a term of endearment."

"Neither is Wise Girl." She was turned away from him, packing her suitcase again and trying to decide if she should wear her flip-flops or converse.

"I don't just call you Wise Girl though!" Percy pulled on another t-shirt and some jeans, shoving his pajamas and swim trunks from last night into his suitcase and slipping on some sneakers. "I call you other things. Nicer things."

"Are you decent?"

"Yep."

Annabeth turned around, her hands on her hips. "Anything is a term of endearment if you want it to be." She tapped him lightly on the cheek twice and opened the mini fridge, pulling out two muffins she had bought earlier that morning. She tossed one to Percy and grabbed her suitcase.

"Ready?" he asked, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

"Yup. Let's check out."

They checked out of the hotel, with the help of a flirtatious receptionist who kept shooting Percy glances under her long eyelashes (Annabeth had to refrain from punching the seductive smirk from her face), and made their way to the Subaru.

"Okay, where to next?" Percy asked, slamming the driver's door and buckling himself in.

Annabeth pulled out her notes on her phone. "Rock Springs, Wyoming." She plugged her phone in the stereo, scrolling through her music. Her feet were tucked on the seat by her bum so she could rest her head on her knees.

"How fancy," he noted and she snorted.

They were on the highway, passing cars that were driving slowly. The sides of the high way were littered with pieces of garbage and road kill. They were surrounded by rolling hills, covered with green and yellow foliage baking in the hot, now late morning sun.

There was a sound, one little hanging, beginning note of a song from the radio. It was slightly flat, a nostalgic sound ringing from its ukulele or guitar sound.

Annabeth grinned at Percy. "Remember this?"

Percy smiled at her. "Oh my god, I love this song. Turn it up, I haven't heard this in so long."

Annabeth turned the stereo up, singing along to beginning lines.

"This is our song," she decided, almost having to shout to be heard over the music.

Percy nodded in agreement. "Totally. Remember when we kept this on replay for a whole day?"

"More like a whole summer," Annabeth laughed. "We were some crazy twelve-year-olds."

"Here's this movie that I think you'll like!" Percy sang, snapping his fingers along with the beat of the song.

"This guy decides to quit his job and head to New York City!" Annabeth continued, car-dancing along to it.

Percy continued it. His voice sounded like a dying opossum, but Annabeth didn't mind. She rarely saw him as genuinely happy as he looked now, reliving one of the best summers of their lives.

It had been also one of the worst.

It had been the summer when Annabeth's mother had left her for Alaska. She had been called there as a war strategist, but she had had the choice to stay or go. She chose to leave them. She left them with the remains of her alcoholism to pick up, not to mention the debt and the bitterness of her departure.

Percy had managed to console her trough her bitterness, with happy indie music as his weapon of choice. They got together at his house almost everyday after that (granted, they did already) and talked and listened to music. This song in particular was their summer song.

They heard from her not two months ago. She was back from Alaska and wanted to see Annabeth again. Annabeth refused. She didn't want to see that woman ever again; she had made a perfectly happy life back in California with her dad, Helen, her half-brothers and Percy. Everything was perfect and she didn't need Athena to barge in expecting recompense and liquor money.

Annabeth knew Percy was thinking about the same thing she was.

He cleared his throat and turned down the music. "Have you, um, talked to your mom yet?"

Annabeth pursed her lips and stared out the window. "Not since she called in May."

"You should really talk to her Annabeth." Percy brushed her curls behind her ear, not taking his eyes from the road.

"I don't want anything to do with that woman," she said, closing the subject.

It was silent, a thick coat of tension in the car. Annabeth crossed and uncrossed her arms, tapping her foot silently against the fabric of the siding.

"I'm scared," she whispered, finally voicing what had been bothering for the past week.

"Huh?"

"I'm so scared about college." She felt like she was about to cry. "What if I fail all my classes, or my teachers hate me?" Her voice was rising and her hands were rubbing her temples.

"Annabeth," Percy said sternly. "Calm down. You have nothing to worry about." He took her hand and gripped it tightly in his. His skin burned from her touch and he couldn't believe she wasn't pulling away. "You are literally one of the best students I know. It takes a certain kind of person to get accepted to NYU, Wise Girl. You are not going to fail all your classes, and I'll be damned if your teachers don't like you because I just will not understand that."

"Thanks, Seaweed Brain," she said, taking a deep breath and running her thumb across his knuckles.

"We're almost at Salt Lake City. And we need gas as soon as possible." She hadn't moved her hand. Percy hadn't either. His knuckles burned where her thumb had run across them. He could feel every single fiber and molecule of his being. People often described touching someone they loved like they were falling asleep and melting; for Percy it was the opposite. He could feel himself waking up; his senses were on edge.

It was like crack.

He probably thought Annabeth was crazy. Her hand was shaky and sweaty in his. Hopefully he didn't notice that. Her fingers felt like they were both going numb and feeling everything.

They drove past a weathered sign welcoming them to Salt Lake City. They turned into a driveway of a gas station.

"I'll go wait in line to pay," Percy said, unbuckling his seatbelt and sliding out of the seat. "And you can have the crappy job of actually filling the car."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, and fit the gasoline nozzle in her car. She was pushing the button when she heard heavy footsteps behind her.

"Hey, darling."

The voice was rough and cold. It made her hair stand on end and her hands curl into fists. She turned around to see a man who looked more like a boulder than a human. A very hairy boulder. A large, bushy beard covered his face but the top of his head was bald and tied with a blue bandana. His large, square body was dressed in all leather and thick workman's jean.

"Can I help you?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She suddenly felt endangered by the amount of cleavage she was showing (it wasn't a lot, but it was there).

"Just wondering what a gorgeous little thing like is doing all alone in this part of town," the man said, leaning his body against a concrete pole, his muscled arms flexing threateningly.

"I'm not little," she snapped. "Or alone, so you'd better leave me alone, please."

"Aw, sweetheart. Don't play games." The man reached out to touch her face and she smacked his hand away.

"Seriously, leave me alone," she said and tried to back away, but the bearded man grabbed her wrist. She winced as his fingers gripped her tightly, surely bruising her skin. "Let go of me." He heart was pounding; she couldn't fight this guy off on her own.

She looked around frantically, but they were the only two outside of the gas station.

Percy, she thought, hurry up.

"Why would I do that?" His face moved closer to hers.

She twisted her wrist so his arm was contorted at an odd angle. He let out a cry on pain. "That's why!" she said and shook his hand from her.

"Why you little-"

He was cut off by a tall, gangly man running up to them. "What's going on?"

Oh, thank god, she thought desperately. Percy.

"This little bitch-"

"Don't talk to her that way," Percy snapped. "Just leave her alone, you asshat. She's obviously not interested and she doesn't owe you anything."

The man glared at the pair. Percy, sensing Annabeth's discomfort, slipped an arm around her waist. "Fine," he spat. "I see how it is."

The boulder trudged away, massaging his arm and grumbling to himself angrily.

"Let's go," Percy said, leading Annabeth to the car. She was shaking all over.

"Are you okay?" he asked, pulling out of the gas station.

"Yeah," she said, rubbing her arms. "Just shaken."

Percy suddenly slammed his fists against the wheel. Annabeth shied away from him. She had seen him like this before; cheeks red, eyes wild and breathing hard. His hands grabbed his hair and ran down his face.

"I'm sorry," he said, still breathing heavy but the tension releasing his shoulders.

"It's okay," Annabeth said, pressing her palms to her thighs and looking at her knees.

"No, it's not! It's effing guys like that! Guys who don't take no for an answer! What is so wrong with our society that guys don't respect girls enough to take no for an answer, but when another guy claims her as his girlfriend, or something, they respect her as his… Property! Why is our world so effing messed up that he has to grab you when you say no?" He turned the car violently onto another street. His knuckles were white.

Annabeth placed a hand over his on the steering wheel. "It's wrong… But so are a lot of things."

He pursed his lips. His anger was fading now. He breathed in and out, and repeat. "I know."

"Okay," she said, pulling her hand back. "Do you want something to drink?"

He smiled wryly. "I'm fine."

It answered more than the question asked.

/

They were sitting on one of their double beds, the one closest to the television. Annabeth was sat cross-legged, her laptop on in front of her and her lip between her teeth. She was emailing her father and she didn't know how to continue.

She knew she wasn't going to mention the incident from earlier today. She didn't need her over-bearing father freaking out and demanding she come back to California. She had made it thus far from her old home to be yanked back after only two days.

He had asked her how she was. She honestly didn't know how to answer. If she said she was happy, he would think that she hated him and was so happy to be out of his life, but she said she was fine, he would panic and think she was lying. Ad if she said she was miserable, he would take it either as sarcasm or he would demand that she see a shrink.

The real answer was that she didn't know. She didn't know how she felt. She was happy and sad at the same time, and not to mention she was panicking about NYU and college life, and she couldn't forget the monetary situation.

She and Percy had money saved up to rent a furnished apartment, but they needed to find jobs as soon as they could. Percy already had one (his mom's boyfriend, Paul, knew someone in New York and had landed him a job at a coffee shop), but Annabeth knew no one and couldn't support herself.

The anxiety certainly didn't help her blood pressure that was for sure.

She groaned, rubbing her face with her hands.

Percy, who was channel surfing and lounging beside her with one hand tucked under his head, turned to her and asked, "What's up?"

"I'm trying to email my dad back, but my brain is making it very difficult," she said and lay back on the bed.

"You're over thinking again," Percy noted and Annabeth glared at him.

She punched him in the arm. "You think I don't know that!" she snapped. She sighed. "I'm sorry, that was mean."

"I wasn't exactly nice to you this morning, you know. I think you can be a little mean to me and get away with it," Percy said and clicked on a random channel. His eyes were burning and he was tired. It was nearing ten at night, and he was already ready for bed.

He was such an old man.

"You weren't mean, just frustrated."

"Kind of like you are now," Percy said and pulled himself from the bed to grab a bag of chips he had left on the table of their hotel room.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'll just reply tomorrow. I'm too tired for this." She shut her laptop and set it on the ground next to her bed. She flopped back of the bed and snapped her fingers at Percy. "Chip me. I need comfort food."

He handed her the bag and lay down so his head was resting on her stomach. He peered up at her, his green eyes boring into her through his long black bangs.

She stared back at him, her lips trying to hide their smile, but failing miserably. She grabbed a chip and ate it, showing Percy a funny face as she swallowed.

He laughed. "You're a dork."

"Says you." She snatched the remote from him. "Ugh, why did you click on a soap opera?"

"Because they're hilarious," Percy said.

Annabeth wrinkled her nose. "No. I refuse to watch this."

"Well, what do you want to watch then?" His head was heavy and warm through her tank top. She shivered unconsciously. She suddenly felt very nervous because of his proximity.

"Um, let's rent something." Her heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest.

Why was she acting like this? They had done this so many times; watched a movie while lying beside each other. It was so familiar, so why was it suddenly so nerve-wracking for her?

"Okay, what?" Percy asked. His tongue felt like cotton or something. Why had he thought it was such a great idea to do this, especially after what had happened earlier that day? He couldn't do anything about it now; she would think he was even weirder than she already did if her moved. And, despite the nervousness, it was actually pretty comfortable to use Annabeth as a pillow.

"I'm an action movie mood. The Avengers?"

"Yes!" Percy fist pumped. "Only the best movie ever!"

Annabeth laughed and rolled her eyes. "You are the biggest fanboy ever."

"Rude," he said, grabbing another handful of chips.

"There's nothing bad about it! Besides, some girls think it's kinda cute if a boy likes something that isn't sports." She snatched the chips away from him.

"Are you one of those girls?" Percy asked and immediately regretted his choice of words. It sounded like he was hitting on her, which he certainly wasn't trying to do. He really didn't want Annabeth to know about his infatuation with her; he knew that if she did, it would ruin their friendship for good.

Annabeth blushed down to the bottom of her neck. "Um…"

"You, um, don't have to answer that. I wasn't thinking about my wording, and they just kind of, bleh. You know? Yeah, okay, I'm going to stop talking about this and let's just watch the movie."

Annabeth snorted. "And you called me the dork," she said and pressed play.

/

The credits were playing and the only light in the room was from the television.

Annabeth was curled up on her side by Percy, her head resting on his chest and his arm around her waist. "I hope we never stop doing this," she murmured.

Percy locked eyes with her and turned the television off.

"Me too."

/

"Okay, your turn," Annabeth said, staring at the long stretch of high way and then back to Percy. "Truth or dare?"

"Mmm…" Percy thought, taking a swig of water and offering some to Annabeth. She waved her hand dismissively and he placed it in a cup holder. "Truth."

"Okay, then," Annabeth said thoughtfully. "What is one of your biggest regrets?"

Percy pursed his lips, staring out of his window. He knew his answer. He just didn't want to talk about it.

"Gabe," he said after a long pause.

Gabe had been his stepfather before Paul. His mom had married him mainly for monetary gain, so they could stay off of the streets. He was perfectly nice for the first year him and his mom had been married, when Percy was only eight, but a year added up and Gabe slowly started to show his true colours.

He had never hit Percy, though the threat had been used multiple times, but Percy could still feel every sting from the words he threw at him. He would mock him constantly about his grades, his ADHD and his dyslexia, not to mention his complete lack of social life outside of his neighbor and best friend. It got to a point where Percy had isolated himself from nearly everyone, including his mom, believing that all he was was a burden and that he wasn't worth anyone's affection.

But not Annabeth. Annabeth was adamant on finding out what was wrong with him and his home-life.

It was only after Percy found out Gabe had been hitting his mom did he finally call the police to take him away.

"I wish I had called the police sooner," he said quietly, resting his head against the window of the car.

Annabeth turned the music down and took his hand. The sparks were back, but she managed to suppress them and just acknowledge her platonic feelings towards her best friend.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"You couldn't have done anything," Percy said after a moment of hesitation. "He was too good at manipulating people. He may have not been particularly smart in school and stuff, but he was good at making people bend for him."

"I know," Annabeth said simply. She let the conversation drop, pulling her hand away from Percy's and pressing it onto the steering wheel. "Your turn to ask me."

Percy smiled, having forgotten that they were playing a game. "Right, truth or dare?"

"Truth because I don't want to do something gross or weird or sexual at the moment," Annabeth stated and Percy laughed.

"Gross and weird, yes. Sexual, no," he laughed. "Okay, um, if you could say anything to Helen right now, what would it be?"

Annabeth stared out the window at the rock, brown terrain. The hot sun was warming her already too-hot skin and she turned up the air conditioning in the car.

"I'd tell her to go fuck herself," she decided and Percy burst out laughing.

"You totally would," he wheezed, shaking his head.

Annabeth gave him a confused look. "It wasn't that funny."

Percy nodded. "Yes, it was. I'm imagining her freaking expression. She'd have the pursed lips like she just ate something super sour and her eyes would go all wide and she'd cross her arms in that way she thinks is threatening. And then she'd tell you to go clean something."

Annabeth laughed, picturing it as well.

Helen had married her father about three years after her own mother had left. She had never liked Annabeth; she thought she ruined her picture-perfect Californian family. She had twin boys, who loved to mess with Annabeth and get her in trouble and blamed everything that went wrong in life on Annabeth.

What really made Annabeth dislike Helen was that she had the audacity to tell her that she was a danger to her children because she was more susceptible to underage binge-drinking because of her mother's addiction to the beverage.

Though, it was because of her mother's addiction that Annabeth had vowed to never drink more than a glass of wine in her life. She saw what alcoholism did to a family, and she never wanted to cause someone that much pain, especially the ones that she loved.

"I still don't know if I hate that woman or not," Percy said, after finally calming down. The side of his head was pressed against the window and he was watching Annabeth from the corner of his eye.

Her blonde hair looked like a golden halo because of the sun shining through her side window. Her eyes were covered in sunglasses and she was only wearing the thinnest of tank tops due to the Nevada heat that surrounded them.

"Hate is a strong word. I guess I just don't see her as a good, responsible adult, you know?" Annabeth turned on her blinker and turned onto a gravel road that was marked with a sign welcoming them to Sidney, Nevada.

"She's just so… hateful and angry," Percy said thoughtfully.

"Exactly. Where to next?" Annabeth asked. The gravel switched to crumbled pavement and the rocky desert to small, whitewash houses and shops. There were only a few people out on the streets and all of them were flushed from the heat.

"Fort Sidney Inn," he said.

"Oooh…" Annabeth whistled. "Sounds fancy."

Percy snorted. "It's only two stars, so no."

"Ah, but it's only fifty-five dollars a night. I think it's super fancy," Annabeth jested, tossing her hair back.

Percy was once again struck by how beautiful his friend had become. When they were younger, her hair was wildly out of control, with large, poufy curls that didn't stay where they were told, but now her hair had managed to tame itself somewhat into large, bouncy ringlets one would see on a princess. Her skin had always been naturally tanned, much like Percy's, and covered in sunspots and freckles from playing outside. Her long legs were dotted scars from old injuries and bug-bites. Her face still held the same almost regal look about it as it had when they were younger.

"So," he said awkwardly. "Are you excited about the architecture program?"

"Oh my god, yes," Annabeth said. "I'm so excited. I can't believe I got in, and it's always been a dream of mine to study architecture and I can't believe it's actually happening." She paused, glancing at Percy. "What about you?" she asked.

"Yeah," Percy grinned. "I'm really excited for the Marine Biology program. I mean, it's supposed to be super hard and stuff, but it's only three years of school and I really want to work with sea life, you know? It'd just be so cool to do that for a living."

Annabeth smiled at him. "I'm glad you're excited."

Percy nodded vigorously. "I can't wait. And, you know, I am kinda terrified for the future, but as we're getting closer, it's getting… I dunno, better. I'm feeling better about it, anyway."

Annabeth sighed, wishing she could say the same for herself. It was the exact opposite; the closer she got, the faster she wanted to run away from the big, looming beast that was the future.

Annabeth pulled into the parking lot of the Fort Sidney Inn and stopped the car. She opened her door and was immediately struck by the incredible heat and humidity. She groaned as she felt her tank top already becoming sticky and sweaty.

"Jesus, it's hot," Percy said, fanning himself with his hands.

"Did you know that fanning yourself with your hands or a paper fan actually makes you hotter?"

Percy gave her a confused look.

She rolled her eyes and continued, making her way to the trunk of the car to fetch their suitcases for the night, "The energy used to create the wind with your hands is greater than the energy expelled by the cold air, thereby making you hotter. So, it's better just to not move at all."

"I do that anyway, so…" Percy said, heaving his suitcase from the car pulling out the metal handle.

They made their way to the inn entrance. Inside the small building it wasn't much cooler than the outside. Annabeth groaned in her mind; she wouldn't sleep tonight at all. She couldn't handle sleeping in hot weather. She'd rather be hyped up on iced coffees the whole next day than try to sleep in the heat.

To think she lived in California her whole life.

"Um, we have a reservation under Jackson, I believe," Percy said, mopping his forehead that now shone with a thin film of sweat.

The receptionist, a young adult not much older than the pair themselves with tanned skin and long dark hair, looked up at them. She raised her eyebrows and typed something on the old desktop. She stood up, and Annabeth noticed she wasn't wearing any sort of uniform, just some small shorts and a light tank top. Not that she blamed her; she almost wanted to pass out because of the damned heat.

She fetched them a key, a real key not a plastic card, and said, "Room 149. Just down the hall to the left. Enjoy your stay."

She smiled at them in a way that seemed much too sarcastic to be professional and sat back down on her chair, pulling out her phone.

Percy and Annabeth made their way down the hall and Annabeth managed to shove the key into the door handle and turn it with difficulty. Clearly the building wasn't in the best condition.

The room was small, with two twin beds and a desk with a small television on it. Around the door was a small bathroom with a stand-up shower, a toilet and a small sink with a little mirror hanging above it.

"Well, now we know why it was only fifty-five a night," Percy said and set his bag on his bed. He yawned and stretched his arms above his head.

A small sliver of his tanned abdomen escaped the fabric of his shirt and Annabeth had to remind herself to breathe. Honestly, she wasn't some lovesick twelve-year-old. Why was she acting like this?

"Hope you don't mind," she said, "but I can't wear a shirt right now, so I'm going to be in a sports bra." She pulled her tank top over her head to reveal a black sports bra and threw the tank top on her bed. "Just try to keep it in your pants," she said with a laugh. "I know I'm hot and all but…"

She trailed off when she noticed that Percy had shed his shirt as well, leaving him in only his low-slung jean shorts with the band of his underwear poking out. She licked her lips and blushed.

What was up with her?

Percy's breath caught in his breath when he saw Annabeth pull her shirt over her head in that crazily enticing way girls managed to do. It wasn't as if he'd never seen her in anything revealing before, heck he'd seen her in a bikini, but there was something different about a bra. Granted it was a sports bra, but it was still a bra.

He cleared his throat and fell back on his bed, shutting his eyes. "It's so hooooot," he moaned. "Ugh, I can't deal with this."

"Well, we are in Nevada during the end of July. What did you expect?" Annabeth asked logically.

Percy peered over at her with one eyes. She was lying on her stomach with a remote in hand and her legs kicking up in the air behind her.

She turned on the television and began flicking through the channels, trying to find something worth watching. She finally just clicked on a documentary about some historical personal. She rested her head on her forearms, sighing in boredom.

"Do you want something to drink?" Percy asked.

"Mm…" Annabeth mumbled. "Just a Coke would be nice." She was almost asleep when she heard Percy close the door to get something from the vending machines down the hall.

Percy walked down the hallway, immediately regretting his decision to not grab his shirt before he left the room. He shrugged off his insecurities; it wasn't like he was walking around town. He was just going to the vending machines down the hall.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, his flip-flops slapping against the soles of his feet as he made his way down the hall.

He stopped in front of the outdated black machine and fed it his coins and pressed on the button for a random drink. He didn't really care what it was at this point, it just needed to be cold.

He retrieved the Sprite from the slot at the bottom and looked up to notice a small, pretty girl his age behind him. She was dressed for the weather, a sport top and some black short shorts, and her pink and purple hair was pulled up on top of her head like a giant bun.

She was staring at him in confusion. "Well," she said. Her voice was sharp and irritated. "Are you going to choose something else or am I going to have to wait here until you're done staring?"

He pursed his lips; that was rude. "Right," he snapped, shoving the coins into the machine and pressing the Coke button down for Annabeth. He grabbed his drink from the machine and began to march away when the girl grabbed his wrist.

"Sorry," she said. "That was rude."

"S'okay," Percy said, suddenly feeling awkward with the two drinks in his hands and his upper body topless.

"I'm Maria, by the way," she said, pulling her pop out of the black hole and holding her hand out for him to shake.

"Percy," he said, shaking her hand that was wet with condensation from the drink.

"So, which way are you headed, Percy?" she asked.

Percy pointed in the direction of his room and she grinned. "Sweet! I'm heading that same way." They began down the hallway side by side. "So, where're you from?" Maria asked, taking a swig from her cold drink.

"Um, California originally, but my friend and I are headed to New York for college," he answered, flipping his too-long bangs out of his eyes.

"Cool. I'm from just the town over. My grandparents are hosting the family thing, but there was no room at their place, so we had to get a hotel room for the night. Which would have been nice if they hadn't picked the crappiest hotel ever," Maria rambled, twisting the cap back onto the plastic bottle.

Percy nodded, not knowing how to respond. This girl seemed nice enough, but he wanted to get back to Annabeth.

"Oh, this is my room," he said.

"Okay," Maria said brightly. She smiled at him as he unlocked his door. "I guess I might see you around?"

"Um, yeah," Percy said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Bye." He slipped in through the door.

"Who was that?"

He jumped at the sound of Annabeth's voice. She was lying eagle-spread on the bed, her face facing the wall.

"Just some girl I met at the vending machines," he said nonchalantly and tossing his friend her Coke.

"Thanks," she mumbled and twisted the cap off. She took a sip and then stared at him quizzically. "Do you want to get out of here?" she asked, finally.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," she sat up on the bed, tucking her feet under her, "it's only three o'clock and we have loads of time before we need to go to bed and stuff and we haven't been sight-seeing this whole trip."

Percy jumped off of the bed. "Sounds like fun." He grabbed his t-shirt from the floor and pulled it on.

Annabeth smiled and slipped on her tank top. "Awesome."

/

The town of Sidney, Nevada looked exactly like you'd expect like any other small town to look like.

Its streets were paved with crumbling pavement and were riddled with various antique, thrift and sweet shops. A couple restaurants caught their eye, like Papa Pete's Pizza, where Percy was adamant on going for dinner that night.

The buildings were all covered in peeling paint of various shades and had sunken roofs. The windows were open to allow what little breeze there was to fill the rooms inside.

"Do you want some ice cream?" Annabeth asked Percy, gesturing to the small shack that christened itself an ice cream.

"Yeah, sure," Percy said and they made their way across the street, not even bothering to look for the non-existent cars.

Annabeth paid for their cones and they continued down the sidewalk, licking at the cold treat.

A long, white building with a peaked roof caught Annabeth's eye. She squinted to read the sign on the front lawn (that desperately needed watering) and grinned. "Oooh! That's a museum!" she said excitedly. "C'mon, Seaweed Brain." She grabbed his wrist and he groaned.

Annabeth loved museums. No matter what they were about, whether it was art, history, science, she had to go in it. She loved the sophisticated feel of all the knowledge that surrounded her or the smell of old things that lingered in the air. She loved every little bit of it.

Except tours. She hated tours. She would much rather make her own way around the museum, thank you very much. She didn't need some overly cheery person telling her stuff she could figure out on her own.

She dragged Percy to the entrance of the long white building. The sign out front read 'Fort Sidney Museum and Historical Sight'.

"This looks like it's about the civil war or something," she murmured.

There was no one at the front desk and no list for prices, so they assumed it was by donation. She grabbed a dollar bill from her back pocket and shoved it into the overflowing plastic box of cash.

They padded down the halls, their footsteps echoing. The walls were lined with black and white pictures of families and soldiers.

"It says here that this was originally used as a lodging for soldiers in the late 1800's," Annabeth said, reading off of a plaque that was attached to the wall.

Percy nodded and looked around, trying to take in all the artifacts that were encased in glass display cases all down the hallway.

The hallway opened into what looked like an old salon or dining room.

Old furniture protected by rope barriers were displayed all around the room. Heavy curtains were hanging by a large window, currently open to let in the late afternoon sun.

"Look," Annabeth said, gesturing to a door. "It looks like we can out back."

Percy followed her out the door. It opened to miles and miles of desert, dotted with twiggy shrubs and tufts of grass. Rolling hills could be made out in the distance that seemed to go on for eternity. The back was lined with old canons and more old furniture, obviously made for the outdoors.

Annabeth wandered off, fascinated by the old artifacts and the want to drink in as much information as she could.

She had always been like that.

Percy couldn't help but compare her to the desert that stretched out for miles and beyond before them. They both held the same kind of beauty that, while terrifying, had to be appreciated.

Annabeth walked up to him. Her bangs were stuck to her forehead with sweat and her nose was pink from sunburn. "Ready to go?" she asked him.

"Yup, if you are," he asked, shrugging casually.

"Okay," she grinned.

As they made their way back to the hotel, meandering slowly down the beaten sidewalk, they laughed and teased each other.

They entered the hotel, still giggling and teasing each other. Annabeth opened the door, laughing at Percy's reaction to an old memory she had shared a minute before.

Annabeth walked into the room, slipping off her shoes, Percy following her suite.

"I swear to god, if you mention that one more time, I'll push you into-" Percy jesting threat was cut off by the sound of Annabeth's phone ringing in her pocket.

"Just a second," she said quickly, pressing the phone to her ear. "Hello?" she asked the phone. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, hi Dad, what's up?" she asked. Percy couldn't hear what her father was telling her on the other end.

She came to a sudden stop. She was paralyzed.

Percy stared at her in concern. Her eyes were wide with fear and shock and her phone slipped out of her hand onto the carpet.

"Annabeth?" he asked, gripping her shoulders. She had gone very pale and almost blended into the white walls behind her. "Annabeth, are you okay?"

Her shocked eyes met his and she tried to force the words out of her mouth.

"Annabeth…" Percy tried again, wary.

She opened and closed her mouth like a fish, and finally her voice was working again.

"My mom's in a coma."

"Oh my god."

Annabeth stood there, frozen. She looked confused, like she had just been asked a difficult riddle. She turned to Percy, her eyebrows furrowed and tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

She surged forward, and tugged him close to her. Percy immediately wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her in his warm scent. She was shaking, but not sobbing, which Percy assumed was good.

"Hey," he murmured into her ear. "It's okay…" He rubbed circles on her back, like his mother had done to him when he was troubled like this. He could feel every bone in her body, every part, every inch. Her breath was shaky, like she was trying to get it under control.

"It's not, though," she whispered. She was crying now and her chest was constricting painfully. "They say she might not make it."

Percy's arms tightened around her and he kissed her hair. The gesture was small, but powerful and Annabeth couldn't help but wonder if there was something more behind it.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry…"

Her hands clung to his shirt, fisting the blue fabric. She sniffed and let out her first sob. Her body shook violently.

Percy's heart broke at the pain she was feeling. Her mother had no right to show up in her life, demanding that she see the daughter she abandoned, and then leave again. He buried his face in her hair and tried to encircle her as much as he could, like he could make a physical shield to all the hurt.

Annabeth looked up at him, her eyes rimmed in red. "I'm getting your shirt wet," she said. Her voice sounded like she had been screaming.

He gave her a look. "You think I care about my shirt?" She buried herself in him once more. "What happened?" he asked.

She pulled away from him and wiped her eyes. He took her hand into his.

Annabeth took a deep breath and cleared her throat. She felt so mentally and physically exhausted from crying.

"She fell down the stairs and hit her head," she said. She sounded like she was recovering from a bad head cold. "She was drunk, as per usual. They brought her into the I.C.U. at around one in the morning." She took a shaky breath.

Percy fiddled with her fingers, lacing them with his own. Her hands were calloused and strong looking. Her nails were painted a dark purple that was chipping. He grabbed her fingers in his hands, marvelling at how her hand looked in his. They were about the same size, only his fingers were longer and her palms slightly wider. It was an odd fit, but it worked.

Annabeth felt like she was on the verge of another breakdown. It felt like a part of her had been ripped away. She felt so guilty for all the horrible things she'd ever said to her mother.

She shook her head.

"What's her breathing like?" he asked, looking away from her hands.

Annabeth stared at Percy toying with her hand, his fingers twisted with hers.

"She's on oxygen," she replied, pulling hand away and rubbing it against her jeans. It felt like it had been electrocuted; it was vibrating from his touch.

Percy looked at her, really looked at her. Her nose was red and her eyes were still teary. Her cheeks were flushed and her whole face was swollen. Her hair was frizzy from the humidity in the air. She had most certainly looked better, but considering she had just found out her mother may die, Percy decided that she had the right to not look amazing. Granted, Percy firmly believed Annabeth could look good wearing a garbage bag.

"I'm so sorry, Annabeth," he murmured and pulled her in for a hug. She was warm against his body. She tucked her head into the crook of his neck. Her arms wrapped around his middle and his encircled her completely.

The gesture was intimate in a way Annabeth never knew one could be with a person.

"It's not your fault," she said. "It's been a long time coming. Figures alcohol would be her undoing."

She sounded bitter, even to herself.

"You don't mean that." His voice was soft in her ear.

Annabeth pulled away, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "She's horrible," she spat, pushing her previous guilt aside. She didn't want to sympathize with her mother at the moment.

All of a sudden she was angry: Angry at her mother, for tearing her family apart, angry at her for not being strong enough to get better, angry at Percy for acting like it wasn't her fault for what she did, angry at the world being so shitty in the first place.

"You heard what she used to say to Dad and I when she was drunk."

"Your mom loved you," Percy insisted, touching her arm.

Annabeth flinched away, ignoring the hurt look Percy had given her. "You don't do that to people you love!" she burst. "If you really loved someone, you'd try and get better! You wouldn't get absolutely pissed during your every waking moment and take it out on your kid and husband! You wouldn't call them worthless and you wouldn't blame them for all of your failures!"

Her bottom lip trembled and more tears slipped down her cheeks. She wiped them away angrily. Why was she still crying?

Percy wrapped and arm around her.

"I hate her," she said finally. She was crying again, and her breath was coming in gasps.

"No you don't," Percy said. He picked her up and she curled to his chest. She cried, turning almost hysterical. She was so drained emotionally.

He set her on the bed and tucked her in. He lay beside her, over the blankets, and held her. It hurt him so much to see her like this. It made him hate her mom almost as much as she did.

Could you hate someone you love?

Percy had asked himself this question so many times during his life. Perhaps resented was a more appropriate wording.

He could sympathize with Annabeth. He used to resent his own mother for staying with Gabe for all those years. Even though he understood later in life that she was only doing what she thought was best for him, he couldn't help but resent her a little because she couldn't get out of the marriage even after they didn't need the financial help.

He resented his father. He hated the man for treating his mother like a summer fling, and not even trying to visit his son after eighteen years. Perhaps he didn't even know Percy existed. It was plausible. From what Percy had heard from Sally, his father was an important political figure, who was already married when he had the affair with Sally. He probably wasn't allowed to even see Percy because of the media.

At least that was what Percy told himself. He didn't want to consider that maybe his father didn't want to see him. Maybe he didn't care about Percy and Sally at all.

Eventually, Annabeth's breathing slowed into that of a sleeping person's.

Percy glanced at her face and brushed her hair behind her ear and carefully got out of the bed.

He wrote a quick note for her on the pad of paper provided by the hotel and slipped on his shoes.

He needed a walk to clear his head, to process the events of the past hour.

Quietly, key in hand, he slipped out of the door.

The sun, though still incredibly hot, was beginning to set on the horizon. A warm breeze was blowing through the streets of the town. Percy half expected tumbleweed to roll across the streets.

Sadly, none did and all that could be heard was the soft crunch as his feet walked along the crumbling pavement.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, and took a deep breath. The sun setting in the sky made the low buildings look like silhouettes in the orange and pink rays.

He walked to the edge of the town, which, unsurprisingly, only took him about fifteen minutes. He looked out at the desert that spread out for miles and miles. The vast plains that were both deadly and beautiful. Kind of like Annabeth.

The girl could kick his butt any day. The only reason he won any wrestling matches were because she was going easy on him.

He suddenly had an aching in his chest; he missed his view of San Fransisco. He missed the fog that blanketed the hills in the mornings, and every other time of day. He missed taking walks down to the Golden Gate Bridge with his dog Mrs. O'Leary and Annabeth during the autumn.

He missed his mom, and her hugs and being her little boy. He missed the secret card games when Gabe was home in his room so they could both escape the monster they were living with for just a little moment.

His mom. She was an amazing person; one of the best. He felt horribly guilt for resenting her like he did. He understood why she stayed with Gabe, but at the same time, he didn't. Surely there must have been another way for them to not get thrown out on the streets. If his dad this important political figure, why couldn't his mom just ask him for help?

She had always said that if he could have stayed, he would have. But if he couldn't stay, then why didn't he at least send some sort of child support to help raise the kid he had helped bring into the world?

It made him understand why Annabeth hated her mother the way she did. She hated her alcoholism and the hurt she made her feel.

Percy could vaguely remember Athena. He remembered that she used to be strict, with thick black hair and grey eyes exactly like Annabeth's. He remembered that she didn't like him much; she used to say that he made her daughter reckless, but nevertheless, she tolerated him because he made Annabeth happy.

She was a good person. She just made bad decisions, and those decisions caught up with her in the end. And, sadly, the consequences of her choices didn't just affect her, but also the people she loved.

He sighed and scuffed the ground with his shoe. The sun had almost completely set by this time, and only a few golden rays peaked over the rolling hills.

He turned around and made his way back into town. He suddenly remembered he needed to get Annabeth and himself some dinner.

He passed a small restaurant. He noticed it was open and that it also made takeout.

Perfect.

/

Her sleep was light, but peaceful

Annabeth could remember one good day with her mother, before she turned to drink.

She had been seven at the time. They had gone out for an outing to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Annabeth had loved museums for as long as she could remember, but that was the day that they had truly struck something in her.

She could clearly picture the exterior, with its tall white columns and decorative engravings. It was so beautiful and took her breath away. From the walls hung long banner advertising new exhibits and features that had been added to the museum.

Annabeth had looked up at Athena and noticed the same amount of wonder in her eyes. Her hair had been pulled back into a clip and she had been wearing what she always wore; khaki shorts and a blouse. Comfortable, yet tasteful.

Inside the museum was a large, open room, filled with people.

They had walked up and down the halls for hours, taking in the exhibits and the history that went along with them.

Her mother had exuded a thirst for knowledge that day. It was almost childlike how much Athena had wanted to soak in the facts, her eyes filled with the same wonder as her daughter.

They had eaten lunch on the lawn out front; peanut butter and banana sandwiches with the crusts cut off and apple juice. Organic, of course.

The day had ended perfectly, with her mother and her father sat on the couch in the living room and Annabeth curled up on the floor in front, watching a documentary, just happy to learn.

/

Annabeth woke up suddenly. She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. She noticed blearily that she was alone in the room.

She padded across the room to the small box of snacks they had brought in from the car when she noticed a note written in Percy's untidy scrawl.

'Hey, Wise Girl,

Did you have a good nap? If yes, good! If no, I'm sorry. I just went out for a quick walk around town. I had to clear my head.

I hope you're feeling better.

I'll bring dinner back with me. That way you get two of your favourite things in one day: food and me. ;)

Why not get some more sleep?

-Percy''

Sleep was out of the question.

Annabeth's mind was wired and her chest ached for the memory she had relived in her state of unconsciousness. She longed for that version of her mom; the mom that craved nothing more than knowledge. Not another beer.

She wished for the mother that cared for her and the state of her life. That mother would congratulate her on her acceptance to NYU and be happy that she was moving away from home.

She walked to the corner of the room and curled up on the armchair that was placed there.

She missed home. She missed San Fransisco, with its foggy bays and distant view of the ocean. She missed the sound of traffic outside and rain pattering against her window at night.

She missed late night phone conversations with Percy, and Sally's blue cookies. She missed her mom waking her up in the morning with a random fact and her dad's banana pancakes.

She missed peanut butter and banana sandwiches with the crusts cut off and apple juice. Organic, of course.

Her chest constricted painfully, and a few stray tears slipped down her cheeks. She wiped them away quickly. She had cried enough tonight for a lifetime.

She pursed her lips and leaned against the window, staring out at the darkening sky. She vaguely wondered how long she had been asleep and how long before Percy was back.

The setting sun cast long, orangey rays across the hills of the desert. The small buildings looked miniscule compared to the long, vast plains of dry sand and sparse vegetation. It was stunning.

The clock on the wall in front of her read eight thirty. He must have been coming home soon.

Annabeth hoped so. She didn't want to be alone anymore. She fancied being alone; she liked to take time to herself, but at the moment, the room felt much to large for just one person. She felt lonely without his goofy smiles to fill the empty space.

The door rattled and was pushed open. Percy poked his head through the crack, and smiled at her.

"Hey," he said, carrying two brown paper bags at his side.

"Hi," she replied softly. She gave him a halfhearted smile that probably looked more like a grimace.

"How was your nap?" he asked, setting the paper bags on the desk and untying his shoes.

"It was okay," she said, walking towards him. Her joints felt stiff and sore. "What did you buy?"

Percy opened the bag. "Chinese."

She gave him a real smile. "Yum, my favourite," she said and pulled out the various aluminum containers full of the warm, fattening 'Chinese' food.

Percy was relieved to see her smile. It light her whole face up, despite her messy hair and wrinkled clothes. "I got some… Ginger beef, and some shrimp fried rice…"

"Did you get any spring rolls?" she asked hopefully.

Percy made a face. "Who do you think I am? Of course I got spring rolls!" She laughed and opened the Styrofoam container of the deep fried rolls.

"Mmm…" she hummed. "Thank you."

He smiled sadly at her. "Don't mention it." He clapped his hands. "Now. Shall we eat?"

"We shall," Annabeth agreed and began spooning some hot soup into a bowl. She took a bite and savoured the salty broth and dumplings. "Mm… This is good," she remarked.

"I'm pleasantly surprised by it," Percy agreed through a mouthful of ginger beef.

Annabeth laughed when she noticed some of the sticky sauce had managed to cling to the tip of her best friend's nose.

"Wha'?" Percy asked.

She snickered. "Nothing," she said lightly, taking a bite of some noodles that had obviously been deep fried.

He furrowed his brow and ran to the bathroom mirror and groaned. "Wo-o-o-ow…" he said, wiping his nose with a paper towel. "Real mature, Annabeth."

She laughed at his disgruntled expression. He frowned distastefully. "I think it's a good look for you," she grinned.

"Mm hmm? You think?"

"Yup," she said, popping the 'p'. She took another bite of food and stuck her tongue out at Percy.

"Let's see how you like it!" He pounced at her, smearing sticky sauce all over her face.

"Percy Jackson!" she shrieked with glee. He had her backed up against a wall. "No, no, no!"

"I think yes," he said evilly and ground chow mein noodles into her hair.

"Oh. My. God." She glared at him. "You did not just do that."

He smirked. "I think I did."

She gave him a murderous look and grabbed a handful of sticky sauce and rubbed it into his face.

"Annabeth!" he cried in defense, trying to shield himself.

She cackled and ran her syrupy finger through his hair. "HA!"

He pouted at her and then grinned.

He was relieved to see her happy again. He wanted to drink in her smiling face and knotted hair, her panting breath and her shirt that had ridden up during their roughhousing.

"We are such psychos," she said finally, still panting.

He laughed breathily and fingered a matted piece of hair. "This is a good look on you."

She swatted his hand away and jokingly glared at him. "Gee, thanks. I especially like your facial mask," she deadpanned and gestured to the sauce that was coating his face.

He rolled his eyes. "I hear it's good for your pores."

"Oh really?" she asked mockingly, crossing her arms.

"Mmhmm."

"Where did you get it then?"

"I got it at this new place called 'My-Best-Friend-Is-An-Ass'."

She rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. "It goes both ways, Seaweed Brain."

He bumped hips with her. "I know."

She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. "I'm glad you're my best friend, Seaweed Brain."

"Same, Wise Girl."

/

The sky was still dark when they got up the next morning. A few freckled stars were still shining like pinpricks in a black blanket.

Annabeth didn't say anything to Percy that morning, just quickly packing her stuff into her suitcase and slipping into the car. She left Percy to do the checking out, not really feeling like interacting with human beings. Honestly, at this point, she just wanted to be left alone.

Sadly, she was forced to spend the day two feet away from another human.

She curled up on the car seat, her knees tucked against her chest and her head resting against the window.

The car was silent except for ongoing hum of the road underneath them. Percy couldn't stop glancing at Annabeth's curled up form. He was worried. She hadn't said a word to him all day, and even when they lived in different houses, she sent him a good morning text each morning to ensure he got up in time.

Percy cleared his throat. "Hey, um, I just thought I should let you know that I booked the hotel in Des Moines for two nights."

"Hm?" Annabeth asked, still sleepy and groggy as it was only seven in the morning. The sun was just beginning to crest over the hills of the desert they were passing through. "Why?"

"I thought that we could do something a little, um, nicer," Percy said, chewing on his bottom lip nervously.

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked, shifting in her seat so she could look at her best friend properly.

"I, um, booked us reservations at this restaurant…" Annabeth smiled at him, her eyes crinkling around the edges. Percy pouted. "Don't laugh!"

"I'm not laughing," Annabeth protested, feeling a little happier than she had that morning. "It's sweet."

Percy felt his cheeks heat up. "Just, in light of recent events, I thought it would be nice to go out for a bit, okay?" He stared determinedly at the road, his cheeks still flushed, but relieved that Annabeth was smiling.

"That sounds nice," Annabeth said softly. Percy's face was shadowed by the dark morning sky, covered in a thick layer of fog. The slope of his nose was outlined by buttery light and his eyes reflected the morning sun.

It suddenly hit her like a semi. She loved Percy.

Her eyes widened and she turned quickly to her window to hide her shock.

She loved Percy and not in the platonic way she always thought she had. She loved his smile, and that it was a little crooked and the little gap in between his two front teeth. She loved his hair that always flopped into his eyes when he talked. She loved how his ears stuck out just a little bit like monkey ears. She loved his kindness and how he was always there for her.

She loved his stability. He was her rock. She needed that in her life. Her father hadn't ever really been there for her and her mom had left, came back and left again. But he was always there.

Through every scrape, every tear, every smile and laugh since she was six. He had never left, not once, for someone else, someone better. She always knew there was someone better than her out there for him. There must have been someone who was more like him: someone more laid-back and less academics-oriented. But he chose her and she chose him and she just loved him.

She loved him so much it made her chest ache and her heart pound and suddenly she didn't want to be alone anymore. She wanted to spend and eternity with him like they had that night in Wyoming; curled up together talking and watching a movie.

She shook herself from her stupor, realizing that Percy had been talking throughout the whole of her discovery.

"…and we could grab some lunch while we're there," Percy finished. Annabeth was staring at him, wide-eyed, like she had just had some sort of life-altering epiphany. "Um, Wise Girl?" he asked, waving a hand in front of her face. "Did you even hear any of what I just said?"

Annabeth blinked and coughed awkwardly. "Um, yeah, sure that sounds fine." She nodded vigorously. "Yup."

"You did not hear anything I said, did you?" he asked, smiling fondly.

"Yeah, no," Annabeth laughed. "Sorry, Seaweed Brain. I guess I zoned out."

Percy shrugged, his hair flopping into his eyes and Annabeth bit her lip.

Suddenly she wanted to touch him. Not punch him in the shoulder or even a friendly hug.

She was to memorize his every line, every bump on his skin, and every freckle on his shoulders. She wanted his arms to circle her and to sway to invisible music with his lips pressed to her forehead. She wanted kiss him, to feel his lips urgent against her own. She wanted his hands to trail down her body and grab her waist, to rub circles on his hips and to mark her.

She wanted to be with him.

She shook her head slowly. Jesus, she didn't know loving someone meant wanting to do it all the time.

Maybe she was just messed up.

"Anyway, I was just asking if you wanted to stop in Lincoln for lunch," Percy reiterated, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Um, yeah, that sounds fine," Annabeth muttered, picking at her nails.

Percy could sense something had changed in his best friend. He pursed his lips and tried to ignore how adorable she looked curled up on the seat like she was. "Do you want to talk?" he asked. "Because something is obviously bothering you."

"No, it's nothing," Annabeth said, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right, Wise Girl. Like I'm going to fall for that one," he scoffed, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "You can't be friends with someone for over a decade and expect them to not know when you're bullshitting them."

Annabeth shot him an angry look. "I'm not bullshitting you," she snapped. "I just don't want to talk about it right now."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Okay, but I still think you'd be a lot happier if you just told me what's up."

He was silent for a moment, focusing on the road in front of him, until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Is it about your mom?" he asked.

Annabeth sighed in exasperation. "I thought I told you I don't want to talk," she snapped.

"Yeah, well, you should know I don't really listen to you," he muttered. "Come on, Anna-Banana. Just out with it. You'll feel better, I promise."

"Maybe I want to feel like crap. Maybe I'm a masochist," she sniffed, her nose in the air.

Morning sunlight was now pooling into the car, casting dark shadows across the dashboard and accentuating Annabeth's high cheekbones.

Percy snorted. "Right, of course you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Annabeth defended, her voice rising slightly.

"Nothing," Percy deadpanned.

"No, really," Annabeth pushed.

"You just-!" Percy cried. "You seem to never talk about things to me until they're literally tearing you up inside. You act like I'm not going to listen, even though I've proven more than once that I can listen very well!"

"I've told you things about me that I've never told anyone else, Percy Jackson," Annabeth fumed.

"Oh, really?" he challenged.

"YES!" Annabeth shouted. "You're the only on the planet who knows me like you do! My own father doesn't know me as well as you do!"

Percy resigned. "Okay, okay. I just feel like you don't tell me things like you used to."

Annabeth scowled. "I literally poured my heart out to you last night," she fumed. "How could you even think that?"

"I don't know," he muttered. "Never mind."

Annabeth just shook her head fondly and bumped him with her shoulder. "I'm sorry if I seem… Not myself. Things have literally been flipped upside-down for me in the past, like, twenty-four hours and I just…"

"Annabeth, you're right," Percy interrupted. "I was a douche and I shouldn't have… I just assume when something's wrong, the problem is me. Like, if you're sad or something, I think that it's something that I did or said."

"You do realize that most of the time you aren't the problem. You're usually the solution," Annabeth commented, staring at her hands. Her cheeks flushed.

"Thanks," Percy whispered.

"Just returning the favor."

/

"Mmkay, how about burgers for lunch?" Percy asked, already turning into the parking lot of a small café.

"Well, it doesn't look like you're giving me much of a choice," Annabeth said wryly.

Percy rolled his eyes. "You don't get much of a choice if I'm paying."

"Um, no, you're not," Annabeth exclaimed. "Like hell you're paying for me. I'll pay for myself and vice versa."

Percy rolled his eyes again. "Annabeth…"

"I'm not gonna go all 'independent woman' on you, but we aren't on a date, and I'll pay for myself. That's my final answer." She unbuckled her seatbelt as Percy rolled into the parking stall.

"Ugh, you're so stubborn," Percy groaned, opening his door and stretching out his back. Out of his peripheral vision, he could see Annabeth doing the same.

"Yeah, but you love me for it," Annabeth joked, slamming her door and heading to the door of the restaurant.

It was nearing noon and the sun was hot on the backs of their necks, even through the chilly wind that still lingered.

"Hello, welcome to Abe's Hamburgers. Table for two?"

The waitress was a skinny brunette with her hair pulled up into a high ponytail that swished from side to side as she walked.

"Um, yeah," Percy answered. "Preferably a booth."

"Sure thing!" She was annoyingly peppy. Annabeth immediately wanted to rip her perfectly ponytailed head from her shoulders.

If there was one thing she couldn't stand it was a preppy girl who couldn't stop smiling and giggling at everything anyone ever said. She probably wasn't even noticing the small glare Annabeth was giving her from behind.

Even though she wasn't because she wasn't going to sink that low. God, who do you think she was!

Even though she was totally glaring at her.

"Okay, my name is Ally and I'll be your server. Can I get you anything to drink?" the waitress, Ally, asked.

"Just a water," Annabeth mumbled from her seat.

"I'll take a Coke, thanks." Percy was reading the menu, squinting through his dyslexia.

"Okay! I'll be right back with your drinks!"

Annabeth unfolded the paper napkin around her cutlery, smoothing it out on her lap.

"So, are you going to tell me why you were glaring at the waitress?" Percy asked, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

"She's too peppy," Annabeth decided and Percy laughed quietly.

"Of course you've found some reason to hate her," he smirked. She hit his hand lightly but smiled.

"What looks good to you?" Annabeth asked. She flipped through the plastic-lined pages of the menu, the letters scrambling themselves due to her dyslexia.

Percy shrugged. 'Dunno, I'm just-" His phone vibrated in his pocket. "And I'm vibrating. Oh! It's Mom! I'd better take this."

Annabeth nodded, her eyes still on the menu, and Percy slipped out of the booth to a deserted hallway leading to the bathrooms.

"Hullo?" he answered.

"Hey, honey," his mom answered, her voice sweet but muffled on the phone, like she was speaking through a layer of fabric. God, he had missed her.

"Hi, Mom!" he said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, baby. I was just calling to see how the trip is going. I hope it's not too early or late wherever you are." She sounded concerned.

"Nope. It's actually around lunch right now," he said. He really wanted to give her a hug. He was total mama's boy.

"Oh, are you at a restaurant or something?" Sally asked. "I don't want to be rude. You could always call me-"

"Mom, don't be ridiculous. Annabeth'll just have to wait it out at the table," Percy interrupted.

"Speaking of Annabeth… How is she?" She sounded like she was worried his best friend. He couldn't blame her; his mom had always been Annabeth's mother figure, especially the last couple years of high school. "I just got the news this morning."

Percy let out a puff of air, raking his hands through his hair. "I mean, she was really upset last night. But she's living… She's surviving."

"Oh, the poor girl… She got her mom back for three months, and now she's… Well, you know." Percy tugged his bottom lip in between his teeth nervously. "I'm glad she's okay."

"Yeah, me too," Percy whispered.

"I can't say I'm surprised," Sally noted. "There was going to be a time when Athena's drinking would blow up in her face. Of course, she didn't deserve it, but well…" She trailed off. "I can't imagine how Annabeth is feeling right now."

"Well, she wasn't doing so great last night. She-" He sighed. "She cried for hours. And then when she finally got to sleep that night, she cried even more while she was asleep and it was just-. It was awful, Mom. I can't, I couldn't. I don't know what to do."

He felt like he was going to cry.

"You just need to be there for her. Everything in her life has gone topsy turby and she needs you," Sally reminded gently.

"I know," Percy murmured. "I'm trying. I'm taking her out for dinner tonight."

"Oh, really?" Sally asked. "Is it a fancy restaurant?"

"Yes, but don't you dare say it-"

"Like, date fancy?"

"Mom!" he whined. "It's not a date!"

Sally snorted. "Sure thing, sweet pea. You're just taking the girl you like to a fancy restaurant as friends."

The way she said friends was so patronizing Percy wanted to be there with her just to shoot her a glare.

"You know, I missed you at first, but now…" Percy grinned at his mother's sigh.

"Don't sass me," she warned, but he could hear the grin in her voice.

"Not sassing," Percy laughed. "I'm serious, though. I'm just trying to cheer her up."

"I raised you well," she smiled. "You're almost too sweet for your own good."

"Ha ha," Percy deadpanned and Sally laughed.

"You want to put Annabeth on the phone? I haven't talked to my future daughter-in-law this whole trip."

"Can you not call her that?" Percy begged and Sally laughed again. It was music to his ears. He walked up to their table, the speaker on his phone covered by his hand.

Annabeth was resting her head on her forearms, facedown when he arrived.

"I ordered for you, by the way," she said. "I just got you the house burger with fries. Hope that's okay."

"Thank you, Wise Girl," he said sliding into the seat and handing her the phone. "And my mom wants to talk to you."

"Okay," she said, slipping out of the seat and walking to the hallway Percy had just occupied.

Percy mentally slapped himself for staring at her hips as she walked past.

"Hey, Sally," she said, smiling slightly.

"Hey, chicken," Sally replied, using the old pet name she had come up for her in her youth.

Annabeth grinned. "How are things?"

"Fine, fine. How are you, is the more important question."

Annabeth leaned against the wall, tucking her free arm around her waist. "I'm holding," she decided. "It was just a shock. I mean, it shouldn't have been a shock but it was."

"I know what you mean, chicken," Sally said sadly. Annabeth was suddenly reminded that Sally's parents had died on a plane crash when she was younger. It shouldn't have been a shock, given that they always flew with cheaper airlines, but it was. "I just want to make sure you're holding up."

"Well, I am," Annabeth sighed.

"I hear Percy's taking you out for a fancy dinner," Sally hinted. Annabeth could almost see the smug expression and the wiggling eyebrows at that statement.

"It's not a date," she insisted, laughing. "I mean, Percy and I are just…" She couldn't bring herself to say it; not after her revelation earlier that morning. "Sally, can I tell you something in confidence?"

"Of course, Annabeth. You can tell me anything," Sally insisted, eager.

"Um, I had this… I had a bit of an epiphany this morning…" Her heart was racing. Why was she so nervous? "Um, you see, I realized that my feelings for Percy maybe aren't as platonic as I originally intended them to be." She bit the inside of her cheek and her free hand twisted itself around her forearm.

"So, you have feelings for Percy," Sally confirmed.

Annabeth licked her lips. "Um, yeah. And I don't know what to do! I highly doubt he feels the same way about me and every time I see him, my chest hurts and I just know it's his fault. That jerk."

Sally laughed. "I think you should tell him."

"What?" Annabeth exclaimed. "You never tell a guy you like him. It makes you look like an idiot. And I don't want to feel like anymore of an idiot than I already am. I mean, who falls for their best friend?"

"It won't make you look like an idiot. Whoever told you that is an idiot," Sally sighed. "And wouldn't you want to fall for your best friend? Wouldn't that make everything a lot easier? Don't you want your partner to be your friend?"

"Of course I want my partner to be my friend!" Annabeth exclaimed, a little frustrated. "Of course I want this to work out with Percy, but I also don't want to ruin this friendship that I have with him because if I do…" She took a deep breath. "I'll break."

"Oh, chicken," Sally murmured. "You're going to be okay. You know that, right?"

"I hope so," Annabeth whispered.

"Percy wouldn't stop being your friend, even if he knew you like him. Come to think of it, he'd probably just be awkward about it for a couple days and then start to like you himself." She coughed awkwardly, like she was trying to tell Annabeth something.

Annabeth let out a puff of air. "I have to go. I don't want to keep Percy waiting too long. God knows what he'll do if he's left alone for too long."

Sally laughed. "Your faith in my son astounds me."

Annabeth grinned. "Goodbye, Sally."

"Goodbye, chicken. Call me if you need anything."

"I will. Thanks."

/

"Annabeth! Are you almost ready?" Percy called through the bathroom door. He had been ready to go for almost ten minutes, but Annabeth was still doing her hair, or her makeup. Or something. Whatever girls did to get ready.

He just didn't get girls.

"Calm down, Jackson. I'll be ready when I'm ready. Don't get your knickers in a twist," she called through the door. "Honestly, we have another forty-five minutes before we need to be at the restaurant. And even then, they hold the table for about fifteen."

She rolled her eyes and the pounding at the door and swiped her eyelashes with one final coat of mascara. She leaned away from the mirror and examined her dress, fluffing her boobs just one last time to adjust where they fell. She posed once or twice in the mirror and checked her butt one last time (she wasn't quite sure how she felt about how her butt looked in that dress).

She opened the door to find an exasperated looking Percy leaning against the wall parallel to the door.

"Alright, ready to go," she said, slipping on her ballet flats.

Percy was stunned when his best friend walked out of the bathroom. Her blue and white sundress cinched at her waist and hinted at her curves. Her hair was out and curly, in a way he really liked, and her long legs were exposed by her knee-length hemline.

She looked beautiful.

"Wow," he breathed.

"Hm?" Annabeth hummed. "Sorry, what was that?"

He couldn't tell if she was teasing him or not. She was probably being obvious; he was just struck too dumb to get it.

"Um, you just look… Wow," he said and she grinned, her cheeks colouring. God, he wanted to kiss her.

He wanted to kiss her so bad right now, in the rain with some romantic song playing in the background and just hold her and god she was so beautiful.

She scanned him, taking in the dress shirt tucked into dark wash jeans and Converse. It looked like he had attempted to comb out his hair, but failed epically, leaving it to fall into his eyes.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she offered softly.

"Thanks," he grinned. "Um, shall we?"

He offered her his arm. She looped hers through his, smiling. "We shall."

"Huzzah!"

When they got the restaurant, a slim, short man wearing a stiff-looking uniform seated them.

"May I get you anything to drink?" he asked, pouring them tall glasses of water.

Annabeth couldn't help but appreciate the tall ceiling of the restaurant, made entirely out of glass so one could see the stars from outside. It looked like she imagined the Great Hall of Hogwarts did. The walls were exposed brick with abstract paintings of various Italian dishes and sceneries.

They were seated at a table in the middle of the restaurant, with their napkins folded into swans and more than one fork and spoon.

She was amazed, to say the least. And totally out of her comfort zone. Which one was the salad fork again?

"Um, can I get an Italian soda, please? Grenadine," Annabeth ordered, looking at the one-paged menu. She smiled at the server as he penciled her order down on a fancy-looking notebook. He looked awfully uncomfortable in his stiff-looking blue dress shirt and grey vest.

"And for you, sir?" he asked, clasping his hands in front of him.

The servers even had linen napkins thrown over their forearms like you would see in a fancy European restaurant.

"Same as the lady, please," he said, shooting him a lopsided grin.

"I'll be right back with your drinks. I'll let you two decide on your meal," he waiter said, flashing them a plastic smile.

"Um, thanks for taking me out tonight," Annabeth mumbled, staring stubbornly at her menu. "I didn't realize how fancy…" She coughed awkwardly and tucked her hair behind her ear.

Percy smiled and unconsciously took her hand in his. "No, actually… I wanted to. Like, you've had a pretty crappy twenty-four hours, and I… Um, yeah. No problem."

The silence between the two was tense. Annabeth grinned slyly into her menu. She was still very aware of Percy's fingers covering her own.

Suddenly she started giggling.

"Why is this awkward all of a sudden?" she asked, still laughing.

Percy joined in on her laughter. "I don't know!" he chuckled. "We've literally been friends for twelve years." Annabeth wiped a tear from her eye, smudging a bit on eyeliner under her eye in a way Percy thought was adorable. "Let's just forget about this awkwardness… And be Percy and Annabeth."

"You mean Annabeth and Percy, because my name would go first, obviously-"

"Obviously," Percy interrupted and Annabeth smiled.

"I'm sensing a bit of sarcasm there, Jackson. Might want to fix that attitude," Annabeth mocked, sipping her drink. Percy tried to convince himself that no, he wasn't just staring at her lips.

The waiter came around, there drinks perched on a circular silver platter.

"Two Italian sodas," he announced and placed them in front of the couple.

"Thanks," muttered Annabeth, stirring the club soda and grenadine syrup with her straw.

"And may I take your order?"

The question sounded like it had been rehearsed to the point of monotony. Annabeth felt a brief moment of pity for the server and decided to leave a large tip for him.

"Um, I'd like the ziti please," Annabeth said and the man repeated the same action as before, jotting her order down quickly.

He looked at Percy expectantly.

"Er… I'd like the linguine con vongole," he ordered, completely butchering the pronunciation.

Annabeth snorted unattractively and he shot her a withering look.

The waiter nodded at them and walked to the back of the restaurant to place their order with the chef.

"You know, not everyone took that foreign languages workshop in high school," Percy grumbled and Annabeth smirked.

"I told you to do it," she chastised. "You have no one to blame but yourself."

"God, you sound like my mom," Percy groaned, stirring his drink idly.

Meanwhile, Annabeth was glancing at the wine list. "Oh man, I wish we were old enough to order drinks. These wines look amazing. Oh! And champagne. That looks delicious."

"Mm, I've had champagne before," Percy said idly. "It was delicious. I mean, it was just kind of like a sparkling wine, which is what it is… It tastes good, though."

"Helen never wanted me to drink," Annabeth mentioned. "I said screw you and then my dad let me have a glass of wine with dinner."

"You would like wine," Percy said, wrinkling his nose.

"You just said you like champagne!" Annabeth exclaimed, laughing.

"I like the bubbles."

"You're such a child," Annabeth said fondly.

Their hands were still connected at the center of the table.

/

"Thanks for taking me out tonight," Annabeth whispered.

The hotel hallway was silent. It was nearing one in the morning. Considering they were staying for another day in Des Moines, neither Annabeth nor Percy was really concerned about what time they woke up.

Percy knew he was sleeping in for sure.

"'Twas my pleasure, Wise Girl," he grinned, unlocking the door with his room key.

He flicked the lights on and the room was bathed in subtle, yellow light. Their suitcases were both open on their beds. Percy looked like a bomb had gone off inside his bag. Annabeth's was neat with only her hairbrush and makeup bag lying out.

They both attempted to squeeze through the door at once, resulting with them being pressed against each other chest to chest.

"Oh god," Annabeth gasped. She could feel the hard plains of Percy's chest pressed up against her. She swallowed nervously.

"Um…" Percy mumbled.

Their eyes locked, green on grey. Annabeth licked her lips nervously and Percy began to lean in.

Annabeth's eyes fluttered shut and – Wait. What the hell was she doing?

She pulled away, her shoulders tensing and she flung open the bathroom door, quickly locking it behind her.

"Shit," she hissed.

"Wha- Annabeth are you okay?" Percy called from the outside of the bathroom. His heart was pounding. It had seemed like they were going to kiss.

"Um, yup, just tired!" she called, placing her head in her hands.

Percy leaned against the door. They had almost kissed. He had been so close to doing the thing he had wanted to do for nearly four years.

"Okay, then."

/

The last thing Annabeth wanted to wake up to was the sound of someone vomiting at six in the morning.

She groaned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and padded to the bathroom. Percy, his hair disheveled and his pajamas rumpled, was leaning over the toilet, hurling last night's dinner into the bowl.

She pursed her lips and knelt beside him, rubbing soothing circles onto his back as he vomited.

Annabeth decided that this was how you could decide if someone was your best friend for life; if they had seen you puke and even more so if they stayed with you and rubbed your back while you did so.

Percy groaned into the toilet bowl, missing his mom even more when he felt Annabeth kneel down and rub his back in almost the exact way his mom had. The only difference was Annabeth's hands were bigger and warmer than his mom's and he was eighteen and not ten as he had been the last time he had puked.

Percy spat in the toilet one last time before shutting the lid and flushing. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to block the image of his vomit in the toilet from his memory.

"Well, this sucks," Annabeth announced, still rubbing his back. "You okay?"

"Ugh," Percy groaned, disgusted, and nodded. "Toothbrush?"

Annabeth reached for his toothbrush and toothpaste on the counter and handed it to him.

He quickly brushed his teeth, scrubbing at his tongue to wash away the acidic taste that remained with the minty paste. He spat it into the sink and shuddered.

"That was disgusting," he said, leaning his forehead on the counter. He suddenly felt very cold and shivered. Annabeth looked at him in concern, her lip between her teeth, and she brushed his bangs back away from his forehead that was slick with clammy sweat.

His face was very pale and his eyes were bloodshot. "Come on," she whispered, hooking an arm under his shoulder. "Let's get you to bed."

He leaned into her so that she was nearly carrying him. Her hair smelled like lemons and lavender. The familiarity was comforting. He was surprised she managed to guide him to the nearest bed considering he wasn't the lightest person and he felt slightly drunk with his stumbling feet.

She lay him down on the bed and pulled the blankets up to his shoulders. He was shaking like a leaf and curled into the fetal position. Her heart hurt looking at him like this.

She turned to leave when she felt a clammy hand wrap around her wrist. Percy was pouting in her direction, looking as pathetic as he ever had.

"Stay?" he asked hoarsely.

Her heart fluttered in her chest. She was about to say no, but her mouth seemed to have a mind of its own. "Okay."

She crawled in beside him, cursing her mouth and her stupidity. She tentatively curled up beside him, her arm brushing his back lightly.

"So…" This was awkward. "Um, is it a virus, you think?"

Percy curled up on himself more tightly, hugging his stomach like he could squeeze the nausea out of him. "I don't know," he whined. "I just wanna sleep. My tummy hurts."

"Oh my goodness," Annabeth muttered, rolling on her back. How the heck did she manage to fall in love with this idiot? Honestly.

Suddenly, it clicked.

She rolled over and glared at Percy. "You ate seafood last night," she stated.

Percy groaned. She was mad now. Why was she mad at him? He was already dealing with his punishment from Mother Nature. He didn't need or want another one from her. He just wanted her to cuddle him. "Ugh, it would make sense."

"You are legitimately the dumbest person…" she grumbled slipping out of bed to grab him some Benadryl.

"Nooo…!" he whined. "Don't leave me."

"Oh my freaking-! I need to get some Gravol and Benadryl into you," Annabeth scolded, already frustrated.

"I don't want you to leave," he wailed, rolling melodramatically onto his back. "I want you to stay and cuddle."

Annabeth felt her face heat up and she slipped on her shoes. The clock now read seven thirty in the morning. Her eyes drooped and she wished she could be sleeping.

But, no, her best friend was an idiot and had to have seafood last night even though he was allergic to it. He would be puking all day. Awesome.

"It's going to take me ten minutes, Percy," she deadpanned.

"Please," he pleaded, pulling the sheets up to his nose so only his green eyes and mop of bed head poked out.

She was tempted. Curled up in the blankets would have been more pleasant than having to trudge to the small shop on the main floor of the hotel and hope they had what she needed.

"No, Percy," she sighed. "I need to get some meds into you, or you're going to be whining even more all day. It'll take me ten minutes, god."

He moaned, rolling onto his stomach like a starfish. "But it's five minutes less of Annabeth-time."

She idly wondered if Percy possibly had feelings for her like she did. The thought had crossed her mind every once in a blue moon, but she dismissed it every time. The very idea of Percy falling for someone like her was incredibly unlikely. But then there was also that moment last night; she was almost positive he had almost kissed her.

Nope, he was sick and she was delusional.

She pushed this to the back of her mind, trudging down the stairs to the main floor of the hotel. The early shift at the front desk gave an odd look, eyeing her frog pajama shorts, hoodie and flip flops, not to mention her crazy hair that was piled into a rat's nest on the top of her head.

The gift shop was a small shop with tall shelves filled with various knick-knacks and bobbles serving as aisles. The door was low and the shop was dark, but thankfully open.

She was a little surprised by this. In the past, the hotels that had shops in them opened at nearly noon, not seven in the morning like it was.

Her fingers trailed along the cold metal of the shelves as she searched for something she doubted was there in the first place.

Luckily, there was a small shelf in the back of the shop stacked with travel medicines. She grabbed a bottle of Gravol, some Benadryl, and, oddly enough, a red rubber hot water bottle that Percy could press to his stomach to help relieve the nausea.

She wasn't sure why there were so many first aid supplies in a gift shop, but considering she could see an adult section blocked off to people under eighteen, she didn't think this was the weirdest stuff one could buy here.

She quickly paid for the stuff, ignoring the odd looks the cashier was giving her and her attire and sped back to the stairwell.

Back in the room, Percy had sprawled himself out on the bed starfish-style. His lip was tugged in between his teeth, but his eyes were closed and his breathing steady.

Annabeth sighed and set the pills and water bottle on the small desk adjacent to her bed. She shook Percy's shoulder gently, trying to wake him up.

He mumbled something under his breath, but merely shook her hand from his shoulder and turned his head to face the other way.

Annabeth bit her lip to keep from laughing. This was something so classically Percy. She remembered there were some mornings they were meant to do something together, whether it was head to his cabin near the ocean, or escape to the zoo early that morning, that she would have to rip the blankets off of him and pour a glass of ice water on his head in order to wake him up.

Suddenly her chest was aching for home. She missed her dad, even though he was oblivious, and even maybe missed her stepbrothers. Thinking of Bobby and Matthew made her heart constrict and she felt her eyes well up. She hadn't even said goodbye to them. They were devils, but they were her devils.

"Percy…" she whispered, shaking his shoulder again. "You have to wake up so you can take this…"

Percy groaned and lifted his head. His vision was bleary and Annabeth's face was fuzzy. "Ugh, okay," he said roughly, pushing himself up so he could swallow the pills.

The pills tasted like cat piss, in Percy's opinion, and he quickly swallowed them with a drink of water.

His stomach wasn't very happy with the pills. It gurgled and he shot out of bed to the bathroom, heaving over the toilet once again.

He whimpered and another wave of dry heaves hit him, gagging and spitting into the ceramic bowl.

Annabeth sighed and rubbed her forehead; as much as she loved Percy, she hated having to deal with him when he was sick. He was whiny and he couldn't be reasoned with. Not to mention the vomit in general.

Annabeth had always thought she had a strong stomach, but when it came to puke, she could hardly handle it.

She made her way to the bathroom and knelt down beside Percy just like she had an hour before.

"You are such a dingus," she muttered fondly. "You ordered a plate of seafood pasta even though you know you're allergic."

"Shut up…" Percy scowled, spitting into the bowl.

"Sorry," she murmured, combing a hand through his thick hair. "I know this sucks for you just as much as it sucks for me." Percy heaved again and glared her. She bit her lip to hide a grin. "Okay, maybe it sucks for you just a little more."

He coughed and motioned for his toothbrush again. She handed it to him. "No kidding," he said through his toothpaste.

He rinsed out his mouth and Annabeth felt his forehead.

She pursed her lips in worry. "You're burning up, baby," she murmured.

"Baby?" Percy questioned, resting his head against the counter. The tile on the vanity was cool against his cheek. He suddenly felt very cold.

Annabeth shot him a look. "Well, would you rather Seaweed Brain in this situation?" she snipped.

He leaned forward and rested his forehead against her chest. "You can call me whatever you want."

Annabeth pushed him back, grabbing his shoulders. "Okay, it's official. You've gone insane from fever. You need to sleep."

"So long as you sleep with me," Percy said with a sly grin.

"Yep, you need sleep," Annabeth decided and pulled him back to the bed.

His head had lolled onto her shoulder and she could feel how hot he was through the thin fabric of his pajama pants and t-shirt. She just hoped she wouldn't have to take him to the doctor's office. It wasn't like they had health insurance at the moment and their parent's couldn't cover it under theirs because they weren't minors anymore.

She tucked the blankets up to his chin and sat on top of them beside him.

His face was smooth in sleep. All of his worry lines from his anxiety disappeared and he looked a lot younger than he was.

Percy had been always been over protective. He was fiercely loyal and hated seeing other people hurt, even if he wasn't the cause. It had only gotten worse when he found out his mother had been hit more than once by his stepfather. He had screamed and yelled and cried for hours to Annabeth after his mom had called the police. He had been so angry when she had decided to start dating again.

He didn't understand why his mother could ever trust guys again. Annabeth knew he was still wary about Paul, no matter how many times he said he liked the guy, no matter how long he and his mother had been together.

He shifted in his sleep so his forehead was pressed against Annabeth's thigh and his hand gripped her ankle. She didn't have the heart to move him, not when he finally looked like he was going to sleep for a bit.

She had a long day ahead of her.

While taking care of Percy while he was sick was one of the most irritating jobs on the planet, she knew that she couldn't live without him. Without him, she wouldn't be who she was today. She had shaped him just as much as he had shaped her. There was no Percy without Annabeth and vice versa.

Even though it would hurt like all hell, Annabeth decided that she could live with just being Percy's friend. It physically pained her to think of him in another one's arms, but she'd rather be Percy's something than his nothing. Even if that something wasn't exactly what she wanted.

/

Percy had always had weird dreams, but this one took first place as weirdest dream ever.

First off, he was dressed up as a giant waffle. He didn't really know where this came from. Maybe his delusional sick brain was craving Denny's or something.

Second, he was drowning in Mrs. Butterworth syrup and he couldn't swim. This was especially odd with him being the swim national swim champion (twice). The syrup felt sticky. Not in the way syrup was supposed to be sticky, but in the way sweat made clothes stick to your chest and to leather furniture.

Come to think of it, the waffle costume was sticking to him that way. He quickly pulled it over his head and abandoned it in the sea of butter-flavoured syrup.

But the weirdest thing about this dream was Annabeth swimming beside him. she smiled at him and combed her hand through his hair.

Suddenly they were on dry land, a vast expanse of green grass and small meadow flowers. Annabeth took his hand in hers and guided him through the field, running as fast as he could. The earth was soft under his dream-self's feet.

They stopped under a tree and dream-Percy took Annabeth's hands in his, lacing their fingers together. Dream-Annabeth's hair was like gold in the bright light. Her white shirt made her skin look impossibly tanner. She looked so happy.

He leaned in and tangled his hands in her honey-coloured locks. His lips met hers and-

/

His eyes shot open.

Good grief.

He shouldn't be dreaming stuff like that about his best friend. She was his best friend. She was Annabeth Chase, one of the most amazing people on the planet, and he was Percy, an awkward, gangly idiot who was lucky enough to have even her friendship.

He felt unreasonably warm, like he had just had a hot bath and hadn't cooled down from it yet.

He didn't know what time it was either. The room was lit by only the sun shining through the curtains of their hotel room window. Percy could tell that the light was dim, but he didn't know if it was sunset or sunrise.

His stomach growled loudly. He wondered how long it had been since he ate anything last. He wondered if there was any food from last night leftover, or if Annabeth had eaten it (she usually did, the little minx).

He tried to roll over and sit up but was stopped by an arm wrapped around his middle. He jumped when he realized that Annabeth's warm body was pressed against his. Her face was resting by his shoulder blades and he could feel each puff of hot air through his shirt. Her arm was thrown around his middle, tugging him close to her.

And she called him clingy?

Percy was suddenly mortified when he realized that he was being the little spoon. Granted, there was no one to judge him and it was surprisingly comfortable. But it still went against everything that had been engraved into his brain about being a guy.

But maybe that was just stupid.

Annabeth shifted and sat up, yawning. She rubbed her eyes.

It looked like she had rolled out from under a dumpster, to be honest. Percy didn't think she had brushed her hair at all since she woke up and she was still wearing one of his old shirts from a couple years ago and her frog shorts his mom had bought her last Christmas.

"Okay, let's do this," she grumbled, moving so she could crawl out of the bed.

"Wha…?" he asked stupidly.

She looked groggy. She squinted at him, still not used to the brightness of the room. "We've been doing this for the past fourteen hours. Come on, Perce, let's go to the bathroom so you can puke, say something weird because of your fever, whine and then sleep some more."

Some would say she had settled into a routine.

"I honestly have no clue what you're talking about," he stated, sitting up beside her.

"You're not sick anymore?" He shook his head and she punched the air.

"I'm actually kinda hungry," he commented, pushing himself off of the bed and nearly falling over. His feet felt like they were made out of pins and needles. Percy decided food could wait for a while. At least until his body decided to work normally again.

Annabeth sighed in relief, flopping back on the bed. Her hair fanned out around her head like a golden halo. "Oh, thank god."

"Yeah, sorry about that," he winced. "So… May I ask why you're in my bed?"

Annabeth sat up, crossing her legs and resting her elbows on her knees. "Firstly, it's my bed. Secondly, you wouldn't let me leave. Like, at all. All day. You almost didn't let me go and get you a hot water bottle and meds so you could, you know, not puke everywhere."

Percy groaned, covering his face with his hands. He was never going to live this down. Annabeth may have seemed nice, but she was vicious and brought things back to bite you.

"Oh my god, Annabeth… I'm so sorry." Percy shot her a sheepish smile and she hit him lightly with a pillow.

"It wasn't that bad," she conceded. "I mean, the worst was the puking, just because I hate puke with ever fiber of my being, but I just kind of knelt beside you and made sure you aimed for the toilet."

"UUUGH," Percy groused, holding a pillow over his face. Maybe he could suffocate himself and not have to deal with this embarrassment.

And, no, he wasn't being melodramatic, thank you very much.

Suddenly, a much worse thought popped into his head, something a million times more embarrassing than the girl he likes watching him puke.

"I didn't say anything… I didn't, um, talk about our, um, friendship and stuff?" he asked, hoping to every religion and perhaps a few superheroes that he hadn't said anything stupid.

Annabeth pursed her lips to hide a smile. The whole day had been him hitting on her, apparently. Granted, it had been when he was delusional from fever and nausea, but some things he had said to her still caused butterflies in her stomach.

"Um, not really," she said lightly. "You said that you didn't want me to leave because, and I quote, 'five minutes less of Annabeth-time'."

Annabeth couldn't help but snicker at Percy's red face. Percy rolled over onto his stomach. He felt light-headed and his face was hot.

"I hate myself," he said into a pillow and Annabeth laughed. "But right now my hunger is stronger than my self-loathing, get me food, wench."

Annabeth shot him a look and slapped his back lightly. "Yeah, no," Annabeth snapped. "Just because you were an idiot and made yourself throw up all day, doesn't mean you get to be a douche when you're hungry again. especially to me, considering i played mom all day and rubbed your back every time you puked and now have a lot of ammo against you now due to your fever-induced hallucinations."

"That's was rude," Percy grumbled. "Fine. Please could you get me some food?" He pouted in her directions and she rolled her eyes.

Annabeth searched through their food box for a box of crackers. She tossed them at Percy and they bounced off of his head. He hissed in pain and opened the box, stuffing his face with crackers.

She sat beside him, crossing her ankles so her toes barely brushed the carpet from the side of the bed.

"Don't eat too quickly," she warned, "or you'll puke again."

Percy pushed himself into a sitting position and fiddled with Annabeth's fingers. She tried not to be too affected by his hand touching hers.

"Annabeth… Thanks."

She waved him off. "No problem."

He shifted closer and pressed his forehead against hers. "Seriously… Thank you. For taking care of me."

She smiled, a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She really wanted to close the mere four inches of distance between them. Percy's chin was shadowed with light stubble and he had cracker crumbs clinging to the side of his lips. His hair falling in front of his tired eyes. She resisted the urge to brush it aside.

"I guess you just owe me or something," she whispered. She felt warm all over, like she had sunk into a bath after a long day. She cleared her throat and moved a couple inches away from him.

She had to control herself. God, where was this coming from?

She felt guilty. He was just getting over a bad day of puking and dry heaving, and here she was, thinking of kissing him. And now he was probably going to over analyze her moving away from him and think she hated him or something equally as ridiculous.

She pushed his hair out of his eyes unconsciously, curling it behind ear.

Percy gave her an odd look.

She coughed awkwardly, dropping her hand. "Right, um, sorry." She was blushing. She seemed to be doing that a lot this trip. "I guess I'm just used to babying you all day."

"No, it's fine," Percy protested. He wanted her to do that again. Only, this time, he wanted to be in Central Park, her leaning against a tree with his head in her lap. She would stroke his hair and then lean down kiss him.

God, he was such a sap.

"It actually felt good," he remarked.

Annabeth's phone began to vibrate on the nightstand by her thigh. She jumped at the loud sound and struggled to answer the call.

"Sorry," she murmured to Percy and moved to the wall by the bathroom. "Hello?" she asked the receiver.

"So, have you and Kelp Head banged yet, or what?"

Thalia.

"Oh my god, you did not just ask that," Annabeth laughed into the phone.

She could almost see her friend's smug expression. Her leather-clad hip would be cocked and her blue eyes would look like she was all knowing. "Um, yes, I did. Now answer the question."

Annabeth sighed, leaning against the wall, shifting her weight to her left foot. "No, we haven't. So you can stop picturing it in your head."

"Ew, no," Thalia whined into the phone. "He's my cousin. I don't want that disturbing mental image. Actually, I don't want that mental image. Ever. Regardless of who you are."

"You asexuals and your gift for not having a sex drive," Annabeth joked into the phone.

"Don't diss asexuality. I'm perfectly happy not having to deal with hormones," Thalia laughed. "So, what's got your panties in a knot?"

Annabeth slid down the wall. "Percy's been sick all day and I've had mommy him."

"Yikes." Thalia's voice was slightly warbled by the speaker. "He's whiny when he's sick."

"Yeah, I know," Annabeth agreed. She tucked her knees to her chest. She could hear some reality show playing. Percy had obviously gotten bored and turned on the television. "I was getting sick and tired of him pining for Gravol and water all day when it was literally two feet away from his hand on the nightstand."

"Is he okay?" Thalia asked. She sounded concerned.

"He's fine now."

"That's good," she hummed.

In her peripheral vision, Annabeth could see Percy lounging on the couch channel surfing like he did.

"Where are you guys anyway?"

"Des Moines, Iowa," Annabeth recited, chewing on the end of her pinky nail.

"Wow, you guys made time." Annabeth hummed in response. "So, you've got, what, two days left of driving? Ish?"

"Yeah, about that. We'll be going to Cleveland tomorrow. So it'll be fun driving through corn fields and stuff." She bit her lip in pain when she ripped off too much nail with her teeth. "We decided to stay in Des Moines because of… Well, you know."

"Yeah, I heard." Thalia's voice was uncharacteristically soft. Annabeth tried to push back the tears forming in her eyes. "You know, about your mom… Are you okay?"

"Honestly, I'm so tired of that question," Annabeth sighed, resting her chin on her knees. "I guess you could say I'm surviving. I just… Miss her more than anything. Not her from a couple years ago. Not when she was always drunk. I miss her from ten years ago. When she didn't drink and…"

"Yeah," Thalia murmured. "I get it."

Thalia's mother had been a drunk for pretty much her whole life. She had died nearly five years ago in a car accident. She had been drunk, as per the usual, and nearly killed the completely sober driver in the other car.

Thankfully, she died on impact and didn't have to suffer, but she had left Thalia to nearly raise her younger brother at only fifteen (Thalia was two years older than Annabeth and Percy). Thalia was still resentful and bitter about her mom.

"I know you do," Annabeth said simply. "That's why I can talk to you."

"You can talk to me about anything, kid," Thalia said.

"You are aware that I'm only two years younger than you," Annabeth deadpanned. "And that I'm legally a minor anymore."

"You'll always be a kid to me. Even at your wedding," Thalia snickered.

Annabeth licked her lips and glanced at the clock. It was nearing nine at night.

"I have to go, Thals. Percy's still not a hundred percent better and I really don't want him to puke all over my bed," Annabeth said, pushing herself from the ground.

"Your bed?" Thalia shrieked.

"Not like that!" Annabeth exclaimed. "I'll explain later, you crazy lady. Christ."

"Fine, fine," Thalia grumbled. "I'll talk to you later."

"Yes, okay. Goodbye, Thalia."

She pocketed her phone and let out a breath of air. She stretched her arms over her head and collapsed on the bed next Percy.

"Who was that?" Percy asked, finally choosing a show about seals. Of course he chose the program about marine life.

"Just Thalia," Annabeth sighed, not elaborating.

"Oh, and what did she want?" he pushed, taking in her stretched out form. A sliver of tan stomach was peaking out from the hem of her shirt that had ridden up.

Annabeth coughed awkwardly. Like she was going to tell Percy that Thalia had called to ask her about her relationship with him.

"Um… Nothing of importance."

/

The sun was just beginning to stream through the window of their hotel room when Annabeth woke up that morning.

It was early, that she knew for sure. For one, Percy was still asleep in the bed adjacent to her, and he usually woke to an alarm on his phone at around eight in the morning. Well, the alarm went off. He didn't really wake up until noon.

She slipped out of the bed, shivering as the warm blankets left her bare shoulders and legs. She grabbed some a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from her luggage and quickly changed in the bathroom, throwing her hair up into a ponytail in the process. She grabbed her runners, tying them tightly and left a quick note for Percy, telling him that she was going on a quick walk.

She glanced at her phone and sighed when she saw that it was only ten after five. She grabbed a sweater that had been resting on the back of a chair and paused when she heard Percy shuffle in bed.

She bit her lip and resisted her motherly impulse to push his hair out of his face kiss his forehead.

She really had to get a grip.

The morning air was cool like fall. It bit into her cheeks and her exposed legs and she almost wished she had opted for pants.

There were only a few cars out at that time, probably because it was so early in the morning. She let out a puff of air and began walking, already feeling her tense muscles loosening more than they had for the past week since they loaded the car and drove off.

God, why was this so hard? Thalia hadn't had a problem moving to New York two years ago when she finished school. Why was Annabeth clutching onto San Fransisco so tightly? It wasn't like she really enjoyed living there; it was too foggy, too spread out, and there were too many bad memories.

Granted, she had some good memories, too. Ones with her father when she was younger, or at her graduation. When she was valedictorian and pulled off her graduation speech without a hitch. Or with Percy, when they both got lost when they fourteen when wandering about the city and ended up spending the day together, just doing nothing.

But, there was lingering memory of her mom and Helen not accepting her as welcomingly as she wished she had. She could never live there; she would feel so tied down and restrained it would suffocate her.

New York would leave her free – well, free-er than San Fransisco. She couldn't really go about killing people up and down the streets or breaking other laws. But she would be able to breathe.

Large, fancy houses lined the streets on either side. They were gilded with white trims and wrought iron fences encircled the extravagant lawns. The sidewalk began to slope downwards, so she slowed her pace so as not to trip over her own two feet (just ask Percy, she'd done it enough that he was bound to have at least three stories ending with her flat on her face from the past year).

She turned down a path that led to a large lake, square in shape. A bridge made of cement towered over top of it, carrying speeding cars across it to their workplaces and appointments early in the morning.

The rocks under her feet crunched in time with her stride. She could feel the outline of the rough edges through the soles of her shoes.

She wondered if she could walk to the New York bay from her new apartment there, or if that were another thing she'd have to sacrifice in order to go to school.

It wasn't like she wasn't ecstatic about going to NYU; she was so happy she managed to get in (not that Percy or her family or Sally or anyone, really, had any doubts she'd get in), but she would miss her home. She'd miss the bay and the fog and distinct scent of the sea and smog. Of course, she'd miss mornings with her family; she'd miss the twins, regardless of how bratty they were, and her dad and maybe even Helen (just a little bit, though).

She wanted to get to New York, though. She wanted to start over. She wanted to put all the drama from high school (it wasn't like she was the most well-like person at the school) and her mom and all that baggage out of the way and start somewhere where she could flourish.

The wind whipped her hair around her face. It was cold and strong, coming from the north. The sliver of sun that peaked through the grey clouds was warm on her skin, but faint, like she was sitting two rows back at a campfire rather than right in front of it.

At university, she'd be with people she could relate to, people who'd have the same aspirations and thought process and hopefully the same level of intelligence as her. Hopefully they'd encourage her.

She'd be able to put her past behind her and become greater than her mom would ever let her be. Percy would be able to put his past behind him and flourish in his marine science program.

God, she wanted to get to New York as soon as possible.

The sun was above her head now, beating down harshly on her. The wind overpowered the heat, though, and she still wished she had worn pants. The fast whooshing sound of cars passing above her driving on the bridge was beginning to become more frequent.

She should be getting back to Percy. They'd have to leave for Ohio soon.

The walk back to the hotel was significantly shorter than she thought it was when walking out to lake earlier that morning. The cold bit at her cheeks until they were a bright pink. Her legs ached from walking and she regretted not trying to fall asleep again. She was going to end up falling asleep in the car.

She stopped in a Starbucks in the hotel and ordered the biggest, strongest coffee she could find. She took a scalding sip and wrinkled her nose at the bitter liquid. She sighed and pinched her nose, taking a long gulp.

She shivered.

Percy was pulling on a pair of black jeans when she entered the room. His hair was mused from sleep but his face had regained ninety percent of his previous colour. To say he looked better than yesterday would be a significant understatement.

She blushed and looked to her shoes, avoiding looking at him as he zipped his jeans up and pulled his shirt down so it covered his stomach.

She tried to forget that he was wearing Nemo boxers and how adorable that was.

"Ready to go?" he asked, running a hand through his hair.

"Just a minute. It's cold as balls out there and I want to change into pants. And I want to wear your sweatpants 'cause I'm lazy. So hand them over."

Percy rolled his eyes and tossed her a ball of grey fabric. She motioned for his to turn around with her finger when he continued to shake his head at her.

She quickly stripped out of her shorts, tossing them on top of her suitcase and pulling on Percy's sweats. They were too long, so the hems of the pants were tucked under the soles of her feet. She tied her runners around the too-long legs, not really caring about the disapproving look Percy was sure to give her about the abuse she was giving his pants.

He'd live.

"Let's get out of here." She slung her backpack on one of her shoulders and grabbed her suitcase. The metal handle slid out with a small 'click!'

Percy was still slightly off-colour. Despite this, he still shot her a look when she slid into the driver's side of the car. She rolled her eyes, turning the key in the ignition. The car sputtered to life and she took another swig of coffee.

"So, how was your sleep?" Percy asked, trying to fill the awkward silence.

Annabeth took her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed lightly. "Erm, fine."

"Okay, um… What did you dream about?" he pressed, turning the radio volume up a little. There was a morning show on, with three hosts. They were debating something about some recent celebrity gossip that Percy really didn't care too much about. He leaned forward on his knees, resting his head on the dashboard.

"Can't remember." Her voice was soft but short, like she was trying to say, Shut up, Percy, you loser.

She probably was, honestly.

"Interesting," he mused mockingly.

Annabeth rolled her eyes in irritation. Her jaw set and her hands gripped the steering wheel tighter than what she should have.

"Look, Percy," she sighed, trying to swallow her irrational anger, "I love you and all (Percy tried not to let his heart skip a beat.), but I'd really just like to sit in quiet right now."

Percy tried not to feel too heartbroken, but it was kind of hard not to when his best friend had pretty much told him to shut up.

Percy had been told to shut up a lot in his life. People assumed that because he didn't get high enough grades to be on honor role or AP classes, his opinion automatically wasn't valid. It was like he wasn't allowed to think intelligently or make a remark because he was obviously too stupid to have an opinion in the first place.

It wasn't like he went around talking about quantum mechanics or the laws of physics like he had a doctorate in those subjects. He'd just like to be able to make a remark about a book every once in a while without people giving him an incredulous scowl and telling him to shut the hell up.

He wasn't stupid by any account. He had B's on his report card. (Okay, and one C in math, but who used math in real life?) He was generally pretty good at writing; it just hurt his brain because of his dyslexia. He sucked at reading, but who really needed to 'analyze the characters and their intentions' of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' outside of schoolwork?

Come on.

He wondered if it was because he was young. Like he hadn't lived enough to make a good, rounded decision. He could guarantee that he probably knew a lot more about domestic abuse, considering his mother and him had lived with an abusive person for six years.

He figured that Annabeth had told him to stop talking because she was in one those moods. The kind of mood where she wanted to talk about something, but actually didn't until later and she could figure her words out, and when she just wanted him to be there but not say anything, but after about five minutes, crack a stupid joke.

He couldn't wait five minutes.

"The longest flight of a chicken ever recorded was thirteen seconds," he blurted out and immediately wished he could just jump out the window of the moving car.

Where in hell had that come from?

Annabeth just stared at him with a shocked expression and slowly began laughing.

Her face was red, and her laughs were long and loud, filling the entire car with that delightful sound. Percy just shook his head, laughing quietly.

"Why do you know this?" Annabeth asked after pausing a second to breathe and calm down.

"Says you!" Percy countered. "Little Miss Fun Fact every thirty seconds! I probably heard it from you."

Annabeth shot him a look. "Very funny. I'm not that bad, by the way."

"Oh ho ho, yes, you are. I probably know more random facts that I know facts about you and I've known you for twelve years!" Percy grinned at her unimpressed expression that he was almost positive was hiding a smile.

"You aren't so innocent yourself, you know, mister," she snipped, turning the steering wheel slightly to round a smooth bend in the highway.

"Oh really?" he challenged.

"Yeah, asshole," she snarked, now grinning. "What about all those random surfing facts you've shoved down my throat for the past eight years?" She flipped her hair pompously over her shoulder. "Besides, my facts are actually useful in life."

"How is the longest flight of a chicken useful?" Percy asked, quirking an eyebrow upwards.

Annabeth was silent. She glared at him, her lips in a thin line. "Shut up," she clipped finally. "You're a butthole."

Percy snorted and leaned against the window. Annabeth leaned over and turned up the radio, humming along to some pop song.

/

The inside of Taco Bell seemed like everything was coated in a thin layer of grease. The linoleum shined more than they should've and the metal napkin dispensers were cloudy. Even the workers seemed greasy.

Annabeth stared quietly out the window, chewing thoughtfully on her burrito.

Percy cleared his throat. She hadn't said anything since they'd sat down, which was unlike her. Normally, she'd talk his ear off, blurting out random facts about architecture or something equally as boring.

"How was your walk?" he asked, wiping the corner of his mouth of some sour cream.

Annabeth's face turned quizzical as she searched for the right word. "Refreshing," she decided after a moment.

Silence.

"Okay…" He drew out the word, like he had been saying something weird like, 'fancy kitten underpants' or 'donkey orange peel'. "Where'd you walk to?"

"Nowhere in particular," she said, in the same tone. "What's with all the questions?"

"I dunno," he mumbled into his fries, shrugging goofily. "I guess I'm just a little worried about you."

Annabeth sighed, and covered his hand with hers. "Percy," she said seriously, "I'm fine."

He held up his hands in surrender. His left hand suddenly felt cold from the absence of her warm palm on top of his hand. "Okay, okay, I surrender. Sorry."

Annabeth sighed again, smiling fondly. She took another of her taco. Some red-tinted hot sauce smeared onto the side of her cheek. She clearly hadn't noticed because she just continued to stare aimlessly out of the window and chewing on her bottom lip.

Percy was struck the sudden urge to wipe it away with the tip of his napkin and kiss her. She looked so freaking adorable, staring out of the window thoughtfully, with a three creases forming on her forehead. Her blonde hair was frizzy and falling out of its hasty ponytail.

"Hey, Annabeth?" he blurted out, without meaning to.

"Mmm?" she hummed, shaking herself from her trance.

The words were on the tip of his tongue. "I, um… I have, um, have to…" he blubbered.

Annabeth laughed at his obvious discomfort. "Come on, Seaweed Brain. Spit it out."

He didn't even know what he was trying to say. "I, uh…" Oh god, he was such an idiot. "Nothing, it's just… Uh duh…" Could the ground just swallow him up now? "It's just… Your hair looks really pretty now."

He vaguely wondered if he could kill himself with a plastic fork.

"Like, yeah…" he finished lamely. He couldn't come off as any more incompetent.

Annabeth's cheeks flushed. "Thanks," she muttered, wrapping her leftovers up with the paper it had come in. "You don't look too bad yourself."

Percy's cheeks mimicked hers.

"I mean," she added as an afterthought, "your face ruins it, but there's nothing you can do about that now."

"Hey!" he protested. "Since when did you become an asshole?"

He was pouting and he knew it.

"I've always been an asshole," she said faux-arrogantly, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "You've just been too distracted by my perfect physique and charm to notice."

Percy rolled his eyes, shoving the last of his taco into his mouth. "Right… That's what I meant."

"Jerk," Annabeth shot.

"Butt," he retorted.

"Butt face." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Real mature," Percy deadpanned, slipping out of his seat to throw his garbage out.

"I know," Annabeth sung. "That's why I'm older than you."

"Oh my gosh," Percy groaned, gathering Annabeth's garbage on top of his tray. She nodded her thanks. "You did not just bring that back again. That's getting so old."

"I know, like how I'm getting older faster than you." Annabeth smirked and Percy couldn't stop his eyes from rolling.

"Just means you're going to get wrinkles faster than me." He brushed his hands on his jeans and started to the door of the fast food restaurant. Annabeth followed close him. He could feel her fingertips brushing the back of his leg and his heart sped up.

"Yeah right," she grinned. "I'm always going to be a stunning human. Even with wrinkles. I'll pull them off even better than you're pulling off youth. Not that that's hard."

"You're such an ass," he laughed, holding the door for her.

"I know," she lilted. "My ass is pretty hot." She got into the car almost-gracefully, but tripped over her own two feet and nearly face planted into the doorframe.

"Jesus Christ, Annabeth," Percy swore.

"It's all good! I'm just stupid."

"You're not stupid," he scolded. "Just clumsy."

"Must be from hanging around with you."

"And an ass. Did I mention you're an ass? 'Cause you are."

"I know. Like I said, my ass is pretty hot."

"Shut up."

"No."

It was silent for a moment. Annabeth turned the ignition and reversed out of their parking stall. She pulled onto the main road and was immediately stopped at a red light.

Suddenly, she was giggling, progressively getting louder and louder. Soon, she was full-on belly laughing, wiping tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"What are you laughing about?" Percy asked incredulously.

"Nothing," she gasped. "Just…" She managed to calm down enough to not look like she was about to implode. "This whole week has been ridiculous."

Percy quirked an eyebrow upwards at her. "Um, yeah, I guess."

"I was thinking about this earlier on… You know, while I was on my walk and stuff. And I was thinking that I just wanna get to New York." She threw her hands up in exasperation. "Like, enough of this bullshit! I want to start over with something new and better! Enough of high school and stupid and San Fransisco…" She took a deep breath. "I'm just ready to move on."

"Yeah," Percy agreed lightly. "I get it."

"I knew you would," she replied softly, turning onto a freeway.

They were silent again for a few more minutes. Annabeth's laughter didn't interrupt it this time, but her voice did.

"I want to buy a house," she proclaimed, shifting in her seat and stretching her back.

"What?" Percy asked incredulously. "Annabeth, we barely have enough to cover our apartment as is-"

She cut him off. "Not right now, you idiot. I meant that I want to buy one in the future and fall in love and get a steady job at an architecture firm or something…"

And I want to do that with you, she added mentally, but, thankfully, managed to keep to herself.

"Yeah," Percy agreed enthusiastically. "Yeah, a small, but quaint, house. That's blue."

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "With a stone pathway leading up the front yard-"

"-And a fountain made out of sea stone in the backyard-"

"-And trees for climbing-"

"-And really nice stone siding-"

"-And a stone fireplace for in the winter-"

"-With hardwood floors and a nice carpet and antique furniture-"

"-That don't seem like they'd go together, but just do," Annabeth finished softly.

Her eyes had gone misty whilst fantasizing about her future. Percy took his bottom lip in between his teeth to keep from smiling too widely. She looked like she was glowing. Everything around her had faded into the background and he couldn't help but admire the slight flush of her cheeks and the day-dreamy expression on her face.

His heart constricted. All he wanted to do in that moment was lace his fingers with hers and press a kiss to her cheek.

Annabeth tried not to crash the car by being too distracted by the fact that a) Percy was biting his lip (screw her hormones, honestly) and b) he wanted the exact same things in life that she did. He even wanted the same house, for goodness sake!

If that didn't scream 'perfect match' she didn't know what did.

"If we're both single after sixty-five, we should get married," Percy mused aloud.

Annabeth immediately burst out laughing. "Oh my god, what the hell?"

"I'm just saying that we would be the most unbeatable couple on the planet!" he insisted, throwing his hands around dramatically, as if that would help get his point across. "We wouldn't even have to do anything romantic. We'd just have to be awesome."

"Jesus Christ, Percy. Could you imagine the train wreck of us trying to be parents?" she asked incredulously, laughing breathlessly.

"No! We'd be the best parents on the planet!" he protested. "You'd be this awesomely famous architect and I'd be the even-more-awesome stay at home dad who takes the kids to the zoo and teaches them about marine life and stuff."

"You'd end up losing our children and blowing something up," Annabeth deadpanned. Someone cut her off and she flipped him or her off, glaring at the driver.

"I take offense to that," he pouted.

"Good for you," she hummed, switching the radio station when 'Royals' came on for the millionth time.

Percy almost said it. He almost told her, but the three words caught in his throat and he was forced to swallow them back down.

God, why was he such a coward? He couldn't just spit them out and hope and pray to whatever god was out there would make her feel the same way about him. No, he had to take the emotionally stifling path of not ruining their friendship and swallowing his emotions and hoping and praying that Annabeth couldn't hear his heartbeat as it sped up when she smiled.

He mentally scolded himself for thinking about her that way. Why couldn't this just go away.

He decided that emotions officially sucked balls.

/

"Percy!" Annabeth called from the bathroom.

They were about to go out for the afternoon, as they had gotten to Ohio before two. Annabeth had decided she needed to shower and do her hair, despite Percy insisting that she looked fine (mainly because he wanted to leave the hotel room).

And then, of course, she had left one of her bras hanging out of her suitcase, so Percy was forced to try to not imagine Annabeth wearing only that because he was pervert who was thinking about his best friend like that and really shouldn't have been considering that she was in the shower in the next room. That was just not cool.

How was he going to handle living with her?

"Yep?"

"Where did you put my makeup bag?" she asked, opening the door to the bathroom. Her hair was still wet and was hanging down her shoulder and creating wet splotches on her blue shirt.

"I didn't touch your stuff, Annabeth," he sighed.

"Yes you did," she snapped, wringing her hair out with a towel. "Don't lie."

Percy sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, I really didn't, Wise Girl."

"Then where is it?" she demanded shrilly.

"Have you checked all the pockets of your suitcase?" he asked, poking through her suitcase just to be sure.

"Of course I have, Percy Jackson," she huffed, hanging the towel on a hook and grabbing a grey cardigan.

"Really? Then why'd I find it in the third pocket?" he deadpanned, holding up a small, navy makeup bag.

Annabeth flushed and snatched it out of Percy's hands. "Not one word."

"I'm not saying anything," Percy snickered.

"You were thinking it. With attitude," she added in a short tone.

"And you can consider our marriage plan off. You can die alone after sixty-five for all I care."

"Annabeth!"

/Chapter 9/

Annabeth sighed. "I'm pretty sure you were wrong."

"No," Percy said firmly. "It's this turn, I swear."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, shooting the black-haired boy an irritated look. "If it was this turn, I'd be seeing it by now." She was trying to remain calm, honestly.

"Just, okay! Just do it!" Percy cried in frustration.

"What are you, a Nike commercial?" Annabeth ground out, letting out a puff of air angrily.

"What?"

"Nike's slogan is 'just do it'," she explained, turning down the street Percy had suggested.

"Ah."

She cleared her throat. "Oh wow, look at that. There's no freaking hotel. It's almost like it's on the block that I said it was but you protested because you had a gut feeling."

Her voice was so patronizing, it would have given her previous history teacher a run for their money.

Man, was she glad she'd never have to sit through another one of his lectures again. He had this nasty habit of treating his senior students like kids in the first grade. And he had this thing where he emphasized every other word in a sentence.

"It was not a gut feeling!" Percy protested, shoving his phone in her eyes. "It was Google Maps! They betrayed me! No need to shoot the messenger."

"Well, you're a shit messenger. You ought to retire," Annabeth snarked.

"That was rude," Percy scolded.

"Blah, blah, blah. Fine, we'll blame Google for your error, just like we blame autocorrect for your crap grammar and spelling when we text," she sighed, trying to hide a smile.

"My grammar and spelling is perfectly fine!" Percy protested loudly. Annabeth was turning into a parking lot behind their hotel. "Autocorrect just hates me."

"I think you're pushing the blame onto someone else," Annabeth hummed idly. She parked the Subaru in a stall at the edge of the parking lot.

"I'm doing nothing of the sort." Percy popped his door open, sliding out of his seat ungracefully and nearly tripping on his shoelaces.

Annabeth gestured to the tall, stone building towering over the parking lot. "And there it is. I-"

"Don't you dare say 'I told you so' you complete toddler," Percy snipped as he opened the trunk to the car and lifted Annabeth's suitcase out for her.

Annabeth hid a smile, popping the metal handle out of her luggage and beginning towards the hotel. Percy walked slightly behind her, a spring in his step. He was trying hard not to smile.

The side of the hotel was brick with intricate carvings worked into the cement. The tall towers were tiled in black, and it looked like something from a gothic movie. Annabeth tried to not swoon at the sight of the gothic architecture.

She wasn't even that much of a fan of gothic style; she preferred Grecian, mainly because it was more simplistic and less busy.

The inside of the lobby was grand and open, like they'd walked into a ballroom. The blonde felt incredibly out of place in her hoodie and sweatpants.

She shuffled to the front desk, where a man with impeccable hair was tapping away at a keyboard. When he smiled, Annabeth was struck by how plastic he looked. She wondered if he was actually a doll, what with the pearly white teeth, gelled black hair, clear, tanned skin, and dark eyes.

"Hello," he greeted. His smile looked like it hurt him and didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Um, we have a reservation under Jackson," Percy said, shifting awkwardly and thumbing the plastic handle of his suitcase.

"Alrighty!" He tapped away at his keyboard for a few seconds and clicked on a couple things with his mouse. "Good, good, good. You're under room 7094. Check out time tomorrow is one in the afternoon, unless you'd like to purchase late check out at three for only fifty dollars more."

"Um, no thanks," Percy mumbled and grabbed the two room keys the plastic man-doll was holding. He shoved them into his back pocket unceremoniously.

"Okay!" the man said brightly, not at all put off by Percy's attitude. "Your room is on the seventh floor. You'll find the elevators just over there, by the dining hall and ballroom."

"Figures there would be a ballroom here," Annabeth murmured to Percy as they crossed the marble floor. Their footsteps echoed around the open room.

Percy snickered and pushed the 'up' button.

"Do you think they'll have those weird things that people in Europe have that wash the poop off your butt?" he wondered aloud.

"You mean bidets?"

"Yeah, sure," Percy commented off-handedly.

"I don't think so," Annabeth hummed in thought. "They're not very common in North America. They might have them, but I doubt it. They're more common in countries like Japan, or, like you said, older parts of Europe."

"Isn't all of Europe old?"

"Well, yeah, but the whole planet is four-and-a-half billion years old. As a part of Earth, we're the same age as Europe. They've just been colonized longer, though you could make an argument refuting that."

The elevator doors 'dinged' open and four business-looking people filed out, all texting on their phones or talking into Bluetooth's, and carrying briefcases.

"But let's not get into that," Percy suggested, "or else we'd be here for days."

"Rude," Annabeth scoffed. The doors shut behind them.

Annabeth idly examined her appearance in the mirror of the elevator as it shuttered to their floor.

Her hair was pulled into a ratty ponytail, and the sidepieces by her ears had escaped and curled around her face. Her eyes looked tired. She was practically swimming in a sea of baggy, grey and blue fabric.

The first word that came to Percy's mind when he saw their room was 'woah'.

He wasn't known for his eloquence.

There were two beds pushed against one wall, draped with richly coloured quilts and about a thousand pillows each. The floor was a warm hardwood, like the colour of amber. There was a small kitchen with a microwave and medium-sized fridge.

In front of their flat screen television, there was a red love seat and large, poufy armchair of the same colour. Long, chiffon curtains were draped over multiple windows and brushed the ground, like something from a medieval castle.

"This is amazing," Annabeth murmured, throwing her suitcase onto the bed closest to the door.

"It's pretty awesome," he agreed. He peeked into the bathroom and laughed in delight.

"What?" Annabeth inquired, peering from behind him.

"They actually have a bidet," he snickered.

Annabeth burst out laughing. "Oh my god, they actually do! That's amazing!"

He snickered quietly to himself and closed the bathroom door. He peeled off his sticky shirt and pulled on another white crew neck.

Annabeth pulled off her sweatshirt, leaving her in only a light purple tank top and sweatpants.

"Am I the only one who felt like an absolute slob in that hotel lobby?" Percy asked, his lips forming a half smile.

"Nope," Annabeth agreed. "Everything was so clean, and then there's me, drowning in my clothes and looking like I rolled out of a dumpster."

"You kinda did," Percy snickered and Annabeth punched his arm. "To be fair, I did too."

"Great, we can be dumpster slobs together," she replied dryly. "Now turn around. I'm changing."

He faced the wall parallel to his best friend and stripped out of his own sweats and pulled on his dark wash jeans and a forest green cardigan Annabeth had forced him to buy a couple years ago. ("Every respectable guy needs a nice cardigan to throw over an t-shirt. I will not be around a guy who does not wear sweaters. 'Sides, sweaters are sexy.")

"Decent?" he asked.

"Yep."

He turned around and was met with a very good-looking Annabeth. She donned a long-sleeve the colour of raspberries and dark pants. She was running a wooden brush through her curls, so they frizzed up slightly when she lay them over her left shoulder.

"What do you want to do for the rest of the day? We still have another three hours until dinner."

Annabeth shrugged in response.

"I mean, its beautiful day," Percy sing-songed.

"Percy, it just started raining," Annabeth deadpanned, gesturing to the sheets of rain pouring down from outside their window.

"Ah, well… We can still have a good afternoon."

"Hmmm…" Annabeth hummed. She had just sunk into her mattress with a book she had been picking away at.

"Annabeth," Percy whined comically. "Come on. It's our last night on the road. Let's have fun. We won't have time to do anything when we're unpacking, and then we'll have college things and studying and jobs…"

Annabeth sighed and marked her page. "Fine," she sighed. "I choose the science centre."

"What?" Percy exclaimed.

"The science centre. They're supposed to have an okay one here. You'll like it." She grabbed her raincoat from the bottom of her suitcase and slipped on a pair of rubber boots.

"I don't believe you."

"Yeah, well, you didn't believe me when I said that the hotel was down the other block."

Percy shot her a bored look and she grinned coyly. "Fine," he resigned. "Where's this stupid science centre. I'll drive."

The Google Maps application on Annabeth's phone pulled up the results after some furious tapping and glitching.

"It says it's by Erieside Avenue."

"Yeah," Percy drawled. He held the door for Annabeth and she poked him in the stomach as she passed him. She snickered when he doubled over and glared at her. "That does not help me at all."

Annabeth shot him a look. "Then I'll give you directions. Good directions. Directions that won't take us down the wrong block."

"Can you please just forget about that?"

/

The front of the Great Lakes Science Centre was white with tall, towering domes. Solar panels lined the front by the entrance and the parking lot. A large wind turbine was spinning what looked like slowly, but Percy could remember from his science class that it was actually spinning almost a hundred and thirty miles an hour.

"Oh, this looks awesome."

"I suppose." He was turning into their stall. The car jerked a little when they pulled to a stop.

"Shush, you're excited."

"I'm excited! Can't you tell you I'm excited?" He made jazz hands and smiled mockingly.

Annabeth shot him a withering look and scooted out of her seat. Her blonde curls stuck to the roof of the car with static electricity. Her sweater rid up a bit at the back, exposing a sliver of her tan back and the tops of a pair of black underwear.

Percy gulped, trying not to imagine her in just all black.

A friendly-looking man with red hair and a beard took their money at the admission box in the lobby. He stuck bright yellow wristbands around their wrists and motioned for them to continue walking.

They walked down a long hall lined with pictures of former scientists. It was light by dim pot lights and strips of fluorescent lights along the corners meeting the wall and the floor. It was silent in the hallway. Annabeth's breathing seemed loud in comparison to the eery lack of noise.

The hall opened to a large room. A model space craft hung from the ceiling with wire.

"This is going to be awesome," Annabeth decided.

"I suppose it's alright."

"Don't be so pretentious. It's amazing and you know it." She hip-checked him lightly and he stumbled to the side a little.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he mumbled, rubbing his arm.

"What do you want to do first?" Annabeth asked.

Her heart was thumping in her chest. She felt like she was being shocked with electricity; her whole body was jittering.

"Let's go to that electricity ball thing," Percy suggested. He was pointing to a small crowd of kids around eight or nine who were crowded around it.

"You mean the Van de Graaff generator?" Annabeth asked.

"Sure." He shrugged goofily.

Annabeth hid a smile and led the way.

"I dare you to touch your lips to it," Percy said, grinning widely.

"It's not going to hurt me or anything, you dork," Annabeth laughed.

"Yeah, but you don't know who's hands have touched that thing!" he exclaimed, laughing.

"Oh, whatever," she scoffed. She starred at the static electricity generator, wringing her hands. "I'll do it if you do it."

"Deal."

They shook hands on it.

Annabeth smiled nervously; this was a dumb idea. She kneeled across from Percy, the bright sphere with little bolts of electricity in between them.

They leaned in at the same time and touched their lips to the generator and jumped back in synch.

"Ah!" Annabeth cried and touched her lips. "Oh my goodness."

"My lips are vibrating," Percy laughed. He pushed himself off of the ground.

"I never want to do that again." She was grinning and touching her lips to make sure they hadn't been burned off or something equally as ridiculous.

Percy bit his still-vibrating lips and looked away. She looked adorable. Her hair had frizzed up because of the static in the air, and was curling around her shoulders and sticking to her sweater. Her eyes were bright and alive, and her cheeks were flushed.

"What next?"

"Let's go down to the ground floor."

Percy nodded in agreement. As they started down the stairs, they were both startled by a loud musical note emitting under their feet.

Annabeth's eyes widened and she grinned. "Oh my god! They're musical stairs!"

She ran down them, pausing every couple seconds to run up a few.

"These are amazing! You're never going to get me away from here," Annabeth decided.

"What if I told you there was one of those spiny coin things," Percy said, and pointed to somewhere on the ground floor.

"Oh! The coin vortexes?"

"Coin vortexes?" Percy questioned. He had caught up with her now and was prancing down the flight of stairs beside her.

"My mom and I used to call them that," Annabeth said. "We used to come to science centres a lot. Museums in general, I guess. She used to be so pro-education, before she…" Annabeth trailed off.

Percy had heard this before, of course. Annabeth was beginning to get a far away look in her eyes, like she was looking past Percy, not at him.

He reached for her hand and caught her fingers in his. She licked her lips and stared at him. The misty look in her eyes was clearing.

It felt like their hands were matching the electric vibrations in their lips.

It looked like Annabeth was about to say something important, like she had something to confess. She opened and closed her mouth like a fish.

"Do you have a penny I can use for the coin vortex?" she asked finally.

Percy couldn't help but feel a little disappointed as he fished a penny from his pocket. He had been expected something deep and philosophical.

"Thanks." She rushed off to the 'coin vortex' and let it roll in a spiral on its side to the hole in the middle.

Percy jogged up to her. She was leaning against the edge of the spiral hole, resting her head on her forearms.

"So, apparently, they have this new exhibit out for the summer. It's this garden of all heirloom plants and vegetables and stuff. It's supposed to be really cool," Annabeth suggested. She pushed herself from the leaning position and grabbed her left elbow with her right hand, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

"Where is it?"

"Just across the room. There's a set of backdoors. There's a four dollar entry fee, but you're allowed to take some food to eat. And it's all organic, and grown in this chemically engineered soil that been enriched with…" She glanced up and Percy had gotten the same lost look in his eyes that she had had earlier. "And you are not finding this interesting at all."

"No, no, no. Not what I meant. At all. I'm just… distracted." He couldn't meet her eyes. "So… Garden.

"Right. Garden."

"Let's go, then." Percy motioned to the door, which was ten feet in front of them. Two women were standing parallel to the door, with fanny packs slung around their hips for cash and matching blue uniform shirts.

The inside of the garden was large, looking even larger due to the glass ceiling and walls. There was a small pond in the middle of the tiled floors. Dozens upon dozens of pots and beds lined the walls and walkways.

The glass roof and walls were covered in water droplets from the previous rain. It had stopped raining and the sun was streaming into the room.

"This is pretty cool," Percy admitted. He rolled the sleeves of his cardigan up, due to the heat in the greenhouse.

Annabeth bumped him lightly. "Told you you'd like it."

"Yeah," Percy mumbled. He grabbed her hand in his. His heart thudded in his chest when she didn't pull away, but instead squeezed his hand lightly. "Yeah, you knew all along."

/

"So, anyway, what I was trying to ask was-"

"Shit, hold on a sec. My phone is buzzing." Annabeth fumbled around in her pocket for her phone.

They were back in the hotel room after spending nearly three hours at the science centre.

"Sigh… Interrupted again," Percy breathed. Annabeth threw a pillow and him.

She glanced at the caller I.D. It was her dad. She gnawed on the inside of her cheek, trying to shake the feeling that something had gone badly wrong.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Honey…" His voice was soft, like he was talking to a child who had lost a pet.

"Yes?" She tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"No," she blubbered. "No, no, no!"

"I'm sorry, sweetie. She just stopped breathing. They tried to resuscitate her, but they were too late."

She licked her lips. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton. Her brain was still processing the information. It didn't seem to want to stick. Her mom couldn't be-

"Annabeth?" Percy whispered from behind her. His hand touched her waist, but she jerked away.

"Okay," she mumbled. "So, how long ago did she-" She couldn't say it. She couldn't force the words out.

"About ten hours ago. I would have called earlier but I had… I had a lot of paperwork to do."

"Okay," she said thickly, like she was trying to convince herself this; that it would be okay. "Tell me when the funeral is, and I guess I'll fly out. I can't- I've got stuff to do in New York and-"

"I'll handle the arrangements, baby girl," Frederick said. His voice sounded thick like hers.

She had lost a mom, but Frederick had lost an ex wife. He had lost someone he had cared about for many years, only to have her taken from him twice, first by drink, then by death.

"I'll talk to you later, Dad." Her voice wobbled a little. Her tongue felt thick and swollen.

"Goodbye, sweetpea."

She hung up the phone, starring at the glass screen that gleamed a little under the light of the lamps lighting the hotel room.

She jerked her arm back and threw the phone across the room. It landed on an armchair, bouncing a little before sliding down to the floor. Thankfully, it hadn't broken.

She almost wished it had.

Her whole body was trembling. This was worse than the time she had broken her arm falling out of a tree. This was worse than when she ran her bike into a lamppost and blacked out and then woke up in the hospital with a concussion four hours later.

It felt like she was breaking from the inside out. She couldn't breathe.

Her mom. Oh god, her mom was dead. Oh god.

It wasn't like she didn't see it coming, but it still hit her like a freight train. Oh god, she wasn't ever going to see her mom again. The hope, however minuscule it was, that she would ever have a relationship with her mom again was gone. She was gone.

Forever.

Her breathing was laboured and she hugged her middle like she could hold herself together. Her shoulders were tense. She wondered if she could curl herself up so small that the ground would swallow her whole.

"Oh god."

She felt someone come up in front of her and wrap their arms around her. Her vision was blurry and she shut her eyes again, as tight as they could be shut. The person smelled like the beach and cookies and mint.

Percy rested his chin on her head. He felt horrible. Annabeth's mom was dead and Jesus Christ, he was such an idiot. He thought back to their miniature fights over the week and buried his face in her hair in shame, inhaling the lemon-y, lavender scent.

Why couldn't he just be nice to her and understand that she was going through something? Her mom was dying, now she was dead, and he couldn't put his stupid pride away in order to sympathize with her or something.

He was the worst friend in the world.

His arms tightened around her. Annabeth almost felt suffocated, but was so glad to feel the familiarity of a heartbeat near her ear. She was gasping and everything hurt, and oh god her mom was dead.

"My mom's dead," she choked out. 'Oh god, my mom is dead. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"She's dead. She's dead and the last thing I said to her was that I never want to see her again. Oh fuck, I am a selfish human being. I'm so horrible. I'm such a horrible person," she whispered hoarsely. Her throat was burning and she couldn't see through her tears that were so irritating because now her eyes felt too wet. It was like they were swimming and it just felt wrong. She buried her face in Percy's shoulder, wiping her eyes on the fabric of his shirt.

"You're not horrible," Percy protested. His hands traced warm circles through the fabric of her shirt. He swallowed thickly; there seemed to be a lump in his throat that wouldn't go away. "You're one of the best human beings on this planet, Annabeth."

She took a deep breath and pulled away. Her eyes dried and she grabbed a tissue, suddenly feeling incredibly numb.

She was shaken. She could assess that, at least. She wasn't sure if she was grieving her mother or the memories she had with her.

On one hand she was terrifyingly relieved her mom was dead. She wouldn't be able to take anything away from her, or cause her any more pain than she already had now. She would be able to pass on, doing whatever dead people did. Depending on one's religion, burn in hell, or maybe just float around earth haunting things.

Maybe she'd haunt a liquor store.

Annabeth shook herself from the dark thought and tried to smother a giggle. Nothing like dark humour to relieve someone from a dark situation.

On another hand, she was heartbroken she'd never have the chance to repair the broken relationship between her and her mother. Regardless if she drank herself into a stupor everyday when they had lived together, she was still her mother. She had still carried her inside of her for nine months, and still raised her well until she was nine.

Annabeth chewed on her lip. Percy's eyes were boring into her. He looked concerned. Rightfully so, Annabeth supposed.

She felt an uncontrollable, overwhelming surge of affection for him.

She wanted to wind her hands in his hair, to kiss him breathless, to feel his heartbeat on her chest.

Her mom suddenly felt so unimportant. Athena hadn't been there for her, but Percy had. When they divorced, when Athena moved out, she hadn't really even said goodbye, but Percy was there by choice and he chose her.

"Are you-"

"I love you," she blurted.

Percy's eyes widened like saucers. "I- what?"

She took a step forward so their toes brushed through the fabric of their socks. She observed the fabric, her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides.

"I love you," she repeated.

His heart was pounding in his ears. Her words echoed in his head, repeating themselves like a mantra.

I love you, I love you, I love you…

When he didn't say anything back, Annabeth panicked.

She babbled, "I mean, it's okay if you don't love me back. I just realized it a couple days ago, and I just had to say it and I'm sorry. Forget I said anything, oh my god, I'm such-"

Percy interrupted her with his lips, pressing them against hers. His thumb and forefinger grabbed her chin and his hand pressed her against him.

Kissing Annabeth was like being burned and thrown into a snow bank all at once. On one hand, he was melting into a puddle of gooey, feeling-too-much Percy, and her lips were hot against his.

On the other hand, it was like waking up from a really long sleep very suddenly. It was jolts of energy and adrenaline, like he had been thrown into a cold lake or a snow bank without warning. It was like taking a deep breath of cold air after having your nose plugged for a long time.

And she was just so beautiful, and he wasn't even worrying if he was using too much tongue or grabbing her too hard or not being aggressive enough like he had with any other girl he'd ever kissed. They just clicked. He could anticipate her every move, but she still surprised him.

Annabeth's heart was racing. He tasted like salt and chocolate chip cookies and mint, which probably didn't sound very nice, but was amazing when you experienced it personally.

He smelled fresh and airy and like the beach. It was cuddling with him, but a million times more potent and addictive. It was like being on weed for the longest time and then trying meth for the first time.

She wondered when he got so good at this, and couldn't help but worry if she was doing this right.

She pulled back to catch her breath. She didn't know how long they'd stood like that, pulling each other closer and pretty much eating each other's faces. Percy's arms were still wrapped around her waist like a vice, so their faces were only six inches apart.

"Woah," Percy breathed stupidly, grinning like mad.

Annabeth bit her over-stimulated lips to hide a smile.

"So that just happened," Annabeth laughed, trying not to smile too widely.

"Hmm…" Percy hummed contentedly, his hands moving down to grip her hips, his thumbs rubbing circles on her hipbones.

"Do you want to do it again?" Annabeth asked slyly, her arms gripping his neck.

Percy grinned widely. "Fuck yes."

Athena's death was the last thing on the pair's mind as they fell onto one of the queen sized beds. Maybe it was that she had just lost someone close to her and had finally realized that life was short that prompted her to say it.

Maybe it was because Percy was looking at her with those eyes, not pitying, like she couldn't hold her own, but concerned.

Maybe because she had finally cracked and it seemed like everything was spilling out of her at the moment.

Her thighs straddled Percy's hips and his fingers brushed the bare skin under her shirt. Her breath hitched in her throat and her hands played with the little hairs at the nape of his neck.

She bent down and sucked on his pulse point, eliciting a low whine-like sound from Percy. She pulled away and grinned.

"What the hell was that?"

Percy's cheeks felt hot. "Nothing," he grumbled and flipped them over so he was hovering over her. His body weight was balanced on his forearms and knees.

His lips were hot and eager, peppering her face with kisses. Annabeth laughed and tried to push him away. "What on earth are you doing?"

He pulled away, still red in the face. "I've always wanted to do that," Percy said sheepishly.

Annabeth swallowed. Her eyes darkened. "You've always wanted to do that?" she whispered. Her voice was rough, like she'd been screaming. She wanted Percy to make her scream.

Woah. Where had that come from?

She pushed it to the back of her mind, saving the thought for later.

Percy nodded. "For, like, four years."

Annabeth licked her lips and thumped him on the forehead.

"Ow!" Percy complained. "What was that for?"

"That was for not making a damn move!" she scolded. "We could have saved a whole lot of drama had you not been a dick and made a friggin' move!"

"I didn't think-"

Annabeth kissed him. "I swear to god, there are better things you could be doing with your lips right now." She kissed him again. "We'll talk about how stupid we are later."

Percy smiled against her and kissed her back. "Sounds like a plan."

And eventually minutes faded into hours, and day faded into night, and awake faded into asleep.

/

Annabeth woke the next morning feeling incredibly warm. She felt like she had sunk into a hot bath, or under a warm shower. Everything felt heavy, like her body was made out of sand bags, and she couldn't stop a small smile form on her lips.

She took a breath and attempted to roll over, but was stopped by a lump that wouldn't budge.

Ah. That's why she felt so warm.

Memories of last night crashed onto her like waves. She sighed, pursing her lips and feeling heavier than ever.

Percy's arm was thrown around her waist (that explained it), fisting the fabric of her shirt. Her fingers were gripping his forearm, like if they weren't there he'd leave. Their legs were tangled in a mess, winded around bedsheets and comforters and pyjama pants.

Her mom was dead.

She pursed her lips and pulled the blankets higher over her head. Her mouth suddenly felt very dry, like she'd eaten a handful of chokecherries.

She opened her eyes and stared at the bedside table. The digital clock read eight-thirty in the morning. She still had another half hour before they had to get up.

Percy shifted against her, burying his face in her tangled mess of curls.

"Wise Girl?" he slurred through the sleepy fogginess of the morning. "You awake yet?"

"Yeah," she whispered.

"You okay?" he asked. He propped himself up on his elbow, his head resting against the headboard.

She swallowed. "I'm fine, I think." She sat up, crossing her ankles, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Her throat felt dry and thick, like she'd swallowed sand. She took a sip from a glass of water from the night before to rid herself of the feeling.

"Good." Percy looked away from her, his cheeks reddening. "We should probably talk about last night…" he whispered.

Annabeth's face felt hot. "We probably should," she agreed.

"I know I didn't, you know, say it, but I, uh, love you too." Percy pulled the blankets over his head to hide his embarrassment.

Annabeth tried to hide a smile and smother a squeal. Percy thought of her like she thought of him. Her feelings were reciprocated.

Granted, she'd had previous relationships, a whopping two boyfriends that lasted for less than four months each.

Her first had been with a boy from her AP Chemistry class in the tenth grade named Gerald. Now that she tried to remember him, all she could think of was shaggy sand-coloured hair and brown eyes. And sweaters; he had worn a lot of sweaters. They'd gone out for four months, but broken up because he had decided that he wanted to focus more on his studies to get into Caltech, one of the best engineering schools in California.

She shook herself from her thoughts.

Percy had uncovered himself of the blankets and was staring at her intently.

"You may have gotten this from last night, but I love you too."

Percy laughed. The awkward tension that had surrounded them when they woke up vanished with the sound.

"So, where do we go from here?" she asked, running a hand through her messy hair.

"Honestly… I don't know. I don't want to go back to being just best friends," Percy decided. Tentatively, he reached out and curled a piece of hair behind her ear. She caught his hand and tangled their fingers together.

Annabeth licked her lips, staring at their interlocked hands that now held so much more meaning that just platonic affection. However, thinking back on it, had it ever been just platonic?

Her last boyfriend, who she'd had when she was seventeen, had broken up with her because she apparently spent too much time with Percy. She'd refuted this statement by telling Spencer that they'd been best friends since elementary school. That they were always going to spend time together. He'd simply shook his head and said that they weren't just best friends.

He went on to call her a slut, despite her tears and very intact virginity, and that he didn't want to date someone who was sleeping with her best friend while he was with her.

Annabeth had cried for days after the break up.

"I don't want to be just your friend either," Annabeth replied.

"So… What are we?"

"I think you're my best friend. And I don't want a lot to change. I just want to be able to kiss you every once in a while."

Percy sat up and fiddled with her hand, running the tips of his fingers over her palm and rubbing warmth into her hands.

Annabeth waited for him to ask her the question. She licked her lips in anticipation.

"Can I kiss you now?" Percy asked, pouting a little.

Annabeth laughed and leaned in. He felt warm against her, and his breath stunk just a little from the morning. Annabeth figured if he could handle her breath, she could handle his.

She pulled away, rolling off of him and leaning into his side.

"When are we going to tell people?" she asked.

Percy groaned. "Frack, I forgot about other people."

"Because you were so enamoured with me and my dashing good-looks."

Percy shot her a withering look. "Yeah, that's what it was."

Annabeth shoved him with her shoulder. "Shut up. I'm hot as hell."

Percy rolled his eyes. They were silent for a moment. The sunlight streaming in the window from the early morning shone long, dark shadows of the furniture across the carpet.

"My mom is going to freak," Percy said.

Annabeth sighed. "So is my dad." She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "You know, he's been rooting for us to get together ever since we were little."

"So has my mom," Percy laughed.

"I know. We had lengthy conversations about when you were going too ask me out," Annabeth grinned.

Percy groaned. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Only one conversation," she allowed. She furrowed her brow in realization. "Thinking back on it, she was totally alluding to the fact that you like me in a non-platonic way."

"Well, I can assure you that my feelings for you are not platonic," Percy said slyly, a blush creeping up his neck.

Annabeth peered up at him through her eyelashes. "Same," she whispered, and pressed a kiss to his neck, just below his jaw.

"You did not just say 'same' in response to my admission of my feelings for you," Percy said, shooting her a look of mock-disgust.

"I'm using it ironically," she scoffed. "Come on, Seaweed Brain. Who do you think I am?"

"I think you're a knob."

"Ooh, very British," she grinned. "I think you're a cunt."

"Annabeth!"

He looked scandalized.

"Come off it, Seaweed Brain. You've known me how long?" She glanced sideways at the clock on the nightstand. It read eight-thirty in the morning. "We should probably get up. We have to be on the road by ten, and I want the buffet for breakfast."

"Of course you want the buffet for breakfast," Percy said as he pulled the sheets off of his body. He sat up and scratched the back of his neck by his ear, and stretched his arms above his head.

"I always want the buffet for breakfast," Annabeth replied, pulling her shirt over her head and grabbing another from her suitcase.

Percy glanced over to see Annabeth's bare back, tan and covered by only the straps of a purple bra. He gulped and looked away, trying to calm his breathing.

She turned around to see a distressed-looking Percy in fresh clothes and bed head.

"What's wrong?"

She padded toward him, her pyjama shorts slung low around her hips.

Percy looked up at her and swallowed. They stood there for a moment, staring at each other awkwardly and not breaking eye-contact.

Finally, Annabeth murmured, "Screw it," and kissed him hard.

Percy was alarmed.

She kissed him with enough force that he was stumbled backwards onto the bed. He kissed her back, and god, he wondered if he would ever get used to kissing Annabeth.

It was like being set aflame. His whole body was burning and alive, and she tasted amazing. Like oranges and lemons, and something else… Earthy, like rosemary or thyme. She engulfed his senses. All he could think about was her touch, her smell (lemon soap, lavender, and pencil lead), and her lips.

"You and your stupid. Freaking. Eyes," she growled and tugged on his bottom lip.

He broke the kiss. "My eyes?" he snickered.

She glared at him. "Yes, your goddamn eyes. Fricking green and blue all at once, and their wide and are you trying to kill me?"

She kissed him again, with a little less force. Her hands had fistfuls of fabric and hair.

Percy pulled away again, panting from lack of breath. "You're not exactly free, darling," he all but snarled. "You didn't even think twice about telling me that you were changing and then I saw your back!"

Annabeth gave him a weird look. "My back?" She cocked her head to the side.

"Yes. And your purple bra," he insisted.

Annabeth looked at him with hungry eyes. "Call me darling again," she whispered.

"What?"

"Call me darling again," she replied, pushing him back on the bed and attacking his neck.

"Fine, darling," he gasped.

"You're not allowed to stop calling me that. Ever." She gave him an expectant look.

He grinned, lazy and wonderful. "Anything for you, darling."

"Frick."

/

"Should we call your mom now?"

They were in the car again. They had left the hotel for New York City, their final destination, nearly an hour ago. The pair had been putting off calling their parents for that time, making lame excuses like 'But what if there's bad reception?' or 'I don't really know what time it is in San Francisco. What if we call them at an indecent time?'

"I don't know…"

Percy tapped the steering wheel, chewing on his lip in worry.

Annabeth tentatively reached out and placed her hand over his, running her fingers over his in what she hoped would be soothing.

"I'm all out of excuses," Annabeth laughed weekly.

Percy sighed. "I'm not even too scared that she won't like that we're… Whatever we are. I'm more scared she'll freak out and demand to have us come back home and have a… Party or something and make a huge deal out of it. And I don't want that. Because it's not you, and it's not me."

Annabeth nodded idly, pursing her lips in thought.

"I'm going to call her."

Percy nodded. "You can do the honours."

"Such a gentleman," Annabeth mocked. She dialled the number and pressed the cool glass of her phone to her ear.

"Hello?" came a voice resembling Sally's from the other end of the phone. Her voice was gravely and quiet.

"Hello, Sally. This is Annabeth. Sorry, is this not a good time?"

Annabeth could hear Sally yawn on the other end of the phone. "Mm, no, this is perfectly fine. You just woke me up from my nap. Any time is a good time for you, chicken."

Annabeth could picture how Sally would be laying on the couch; her legs stretched out and her left arm thrown over her head. "Thanks."

"What did you need?"

Annabeth sighed. "Um, actually it's just some news."

"Yes, I heard about your mom," Sally said softly. "I'm so sorry."

Annabeth swallowed, a lump forming in her throat from guilt. She hadn't even really thought about her mom at all that morning. It had crossed her mind twice, but it wasn't affecting her the way it should have.

Shouldn't she be an incoherent blubber of tears right now? Shouldn't she be crying hysterically, asking the universe why they took her away because she was so young, and so good and true!

But she wasn't.

Granted, she was young; a mere forty-seven years when she died. But Athena was neither good nor true. That's why she turned to drink. That's why she drained their bank accounts and left them when she was called out on mission.

And Annabeth was sad and angry, she probably would be for a while. It just wasn't what she expected.

Maybe that was the thing she learned from this adventure of a week: Fate will throw things at you like cannons, and you never how you'll react, but that doesn't mean the reaction is wrong.

"You know what? I'm sad, but I think it's for what's best," she replied after a moment.

Sally hummed into the receiver. "Yes, I think you're right."

They were silent for a moment. Percy took her hand in his, running the pads of his fingers over her palm. He lifted her fingers to his lips and pressed them against them, warm and soft.

Annabeth smiled softly.

"You said you had other news?"

Annabeth barely heard her. "Hm?" she asked, feeling like she was floating on cloud nine.

"You said you had others news?" Sally repeated.

"Oh, right, um…" Annabeth laughed nervously, raking a hand through her hair. "Um, yeah… Okay, how do I say this?"

"I'm getting scared now. Did you blow something up?" Sally asked jokingly.

"No." She rolled her eyes. "It's good news. Well, I think it's good news, and I think you will too."

"You got a job in New York?" she asked hopefully.

Annabeth sighed. "No, not yet, thanks for reminding me."

"No problem, chicken." Annabeth could hear her cheeky smile.

"It's something a little more… Unexpected. I-" She took a a deep breath and spit it out. "Percy and I are… More than friends now."

"YES! It's about time!" Sally exclaimed. "God, do you know how many years of you two and your sexual tension I've had to put up with?"

"Sally!" Annabeth exclaimed.

Percy was shaking from laughter beside her. She glared at him and slapped his arm.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'm just relieved I won't have to deal with Percy pining after you all the time."

Annabeth snickered.

"What's she saying?" Percy asked innocently, glancing in Annabeth's direction.

"Just that she's glad you won't have to pine after me anymore," she laughed.

Percy groaned. "Kill me."

"No."

"You're horrible. Honestly, truly horrible."

Annabeth shrugged. "I know. But you love me for it."

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

Annabeth pressed the phone to her ear again, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Did you hear any of that?"

"Nope," Sally laughed. "But I have an idea of how that went."

"So, yeah… That's all we had to tell you," Annabeth sighed. She stared out of the side window at the fields and rolling hills passing.

They passed a bright yellow sign that read 'Welcome to PENNSYLVANIA'.

The roads instantly got bumpier, and Annabeth nearly dropped her phone in between the seats. She gripped the expensive smartphone in her hand so hard her purple case was slick with sweat.

"I have to go, Sally. I've got a lot of people to call yet. Could you tell my dad about this?" she asked. "I don't really want to deal with him right now, especially after… last night."

"Of course, chicken," she said softly. Have fun! Don't do anything naughty!" She was never going to stop teasing them.

Annabeth flushed and glanced over at Percy. An image of him shirtless, climbing over top of her with mischievous eyes and a wanting smirk invading her mind.

She shivered and banished the thought to the back of her mind; she had to get a grip.

Even if Percy and she had admitted their feelings, they certainly weren't ready for… That.

Okay.

"Sally!" she exclaimed.

Sally laughed loudly, so loudly, Annabeth had to pull the receiver away form her ear so she wouldn't go deaf.

"I'll talk to you later, chicken," she giggled.

Annabeth sighed, a fond smile cracking her lips. "Goodbye, Sally."

She hung up the phone and turned up the radio. There was a broadcast on about some news from the Middle East. Annabeth pursed her lips and switched the station, not wanting the depressing news to ruin her day.

She usually cared about the news; she used to listen to it every morning before school back home, but she'd had enough bad news for the next month given the week she'd had.

"Aw!" Percy whined, turning slightly around a bend in the road.

"What?"

"Why didn't my mom want to talk to me?" he pouted. He glanced in the rearview mirror, taking in a family-sized van with a canoe tied to the top, and a small lemon of a car spurting down the highway.

"You're driving, moron," Annabeth snipped.

"Speaker phone," he said, like she was an idiot.

"Well, I have to call Thalia now, anyway. Oh crap. Thalia." They looked at each other with wide eyes. "Oh my god, we have to tell Thalia."

"Frick, that's gonna suck," Percy sighed. "She's gonna be so embarrassing."

Annabeth licked her lips, staring at Percy, taking in his mused hair and how adorable he looked as he was focusing on the road. She leaned and pecked him on the cheek.

He gave her a look. "What was that for?"

"Do I need a reason?" she challenged.

He rolled his eyes. "I guess not." He rubbed the beck of his neck, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "You're distracting me, and I don't want to get in an accident."

"I'm distracting?" She grinned widely, wiggling her eyebrows.

She leaned in again, this time lingering on his pulse point.

Percy pursed his lips, trying to focus on the road, not how warm her lips were or how her hair smelled like hotel shampoo and lavender. "No, that's not what I meant. I meant your big head was in the way," he ground out. His grip tightened on the steering wheel.

"Uh huh." She breath was coming in gentle puffs on his neck. Her presence was intoxicating. And very distracting. His vision became cloudy, soft and sweet like her lips on his neck.

He heard a loud HONK and his eyes shot open. They had veered out of their lane on the highway, and a large truck was honking at them to get out of the way.

Percy reefed on the steering wheel, turning them back into their lane and cutting off the pair of teens behind them. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel, and his jaw was clenched tight in fear.

They honked at him again.

The pair were breathing heavy, trying to slow down their heart rates.

"Holy shit," Annabeth gasped, still breathing heavily and clutching at her chest.

"Yeah," Percy agreed. "Maybe let's not do that again."

Annabeth nodded, her grey eyes still wide and her cheeks pink. "At least not when you have to drive."

Percy flushed and tried to hide a smile. Annabeth wanted to do that again. Annabeth actually wanted to be with him, to be something more than friends.

"Hey, Percy?" she asked suddenly.

"Mmhm?" he acknowledged and glanced down at his phone, which was acting as the GPS. They were a third of the way to New York. Almost there.

"You're taking to long to ask, so will you be my boyfriend?" she asked.

Percy froze. "Oh my god, are you kidding me."

"What?" she asked, looking offended.

"Why can't I ever make the first move?" he whinged, slumping his shoulders forward. "First last night, and now this!"

"You kissed me first," she allowed.

"But you made the first move!"

"Enough with your fragile masculinity bullshit!" Annabeth exclaimed, frustrated. "If you wanted to make the first move, you should have acted faster. It's not my fault. Quit acting like not making the first move makes you less of a man, because I am not some prize, and you are not acting like the Percy I know."

She huffed, crossed her arms, and stared out the window.

Percy stared at her, eyes wide.

"Right," he said. "You're right."

"I know I am. And I'm sorry for being rude. I just get tired of people treating girls like objects, and acting like the guy needs to make the first move." She raked a hand through her hair. She pulled it back into a messy pile on top of her head and wrapped a hair elastic around it from her wrist.

"Okay, I'll stop being a little bitch." He grinned at her and she laughed.

"So, are you going to answer my question?" she asked. Her shirt had ridden up during their drive, so she pushed herself up off of the seat to pull it down, stretching her arms up and over her head when she was done.

"What?"

"Will. You. Be. My. Boyfriend?" She annunciated each word, dragging them out mockingly.

"Right. Okay. Yes. That will be a thing." His cheeks turned red.

Annabeth threw her head back, giggling. "Oh my goodness. You're such a dork."

"Shut up!"

"It's okay. You're my dork."

/

"Annabeth?"

Annabeth grumbled in her sleep, curling into a tight ball and facing the window.

Percy sighed, already becoming more and more bored than he was previously. They were almost in New York. Annabeth had been asleep for nearly an hour, having dozed off after her father had called and their talk. She managed to figure out the BluTooth (after however long of it benign screwed over because of a phone update, honestly, Apple), and the two had talked to him for about half an hour.

Percy was still shaking a little from the threat of being fed to Annabeth's labrador, Lucy, should he ever hurt his daughter.

Frederick had laughed afterwards, assuring him that he was joking and that he knew that Percy would never hurt Annabeth intentionally. Just so long as he kept her virtue in tact he was good.

To which Annabeth blushed a dark vermillion and yelled, "Dad! Stop!"

Her head was curled inward, resting against the crook of her arm and her back was to him. Her loose shirt had ridden up to expose a bit of her back, Her spine poked out of her back, bumpy and tan, like the rest of her. A small sliver of her underwear showed from under her leggings. They were bright blue.

Percy turned away determinedly, trying to ignore the urge to kiss her hair. They'd already risked their lives enough on this trip because of kissing.

But, god, he really liked her. He really, really liked her.

Percy honestly couldn't remember the last time he was this happy. Not even when he won the swim championship last year, or when he watched Annabeth give her speech as Valedictorian (it was awesome).

He felt a little guilty for being happy. Athena had died, only yesterday. He thought Annabeth was still in shock, mainly because she wasn't a blubbering mess of tears and snot. Not that he wanted her to be, god no, but he knew that if his mom were to die, he wouldn't be able to function properly for a long time.

But Annabeth's mom was different.

Part of him, the incredibly cruel part of him, thought that she didn't deserve Annabeth's grief. Percy had met Athena a grand total of five times in their twelve years of friendship. The first two had been when she was good mom. Perhaps a little absent, considering she was on call a lot for work, but an amazing mother nonetheless.

The next three were horrible. Athena had started drinking herself into a stupor. Percy used to go over to Annabeth's to escape Gabe, who was also drunk nearly all the time, but at least Athena didn't threaten to beat Percy into submission. Athena had yelled at them, mostly Annabeth, that they were the reason she had to do this, and that she was happier like this, and how she wished she could just swallow a gun.

The next two were when Athena was moving out. Thank god she had moved out.

Percy helped Annabeth pack up the stuff that was Athena's, because he was an amazing friend (obviously). She had been silent the whole time, packing crystal dish ware wrapped in newspaper into cardboard boxes.

She hadn't even thanked him for helping.

It wasn't that big of deal to him, though; Annabeth and him had walked to an ice cream shop later that night and shared a huge waffle cone of chocolate-raspberry, and bubblegum ice cream. Percy had chosen the latter.

Athena didn't deserve Annabeth's grief. She was horrible, vile, cruel. But Annabeth was grieving, and he was going to be there for her. Thick and thin.

Annabeth and him had talked about all of this, for nearly an hour as well.

It had been one of those rare moments Annabeth had been completely and totally honest with him. About everything. No boundaries.

She told him how angry she was, and how sad she was. She said that she knew her mom didn't deserve her grief, but she couldn't help what she was feeling, and at the moment, she had been feeling happy.

She was a little sad, but she was happy that Athena could finally move on, that she could move on. And she had him, so how bad could it be?

She was going to come out of this shock within the next couple of days or weeks or maybe even months, and Percy would be there to catch when she fell the feared fall.

He had to be a better boyfriend than he was a friend, because he had failed her this past week.

It was still an enigma to Percy as to why Annabeth li- no, loved him.

They shouldn't have fit together, but they did. And last night had proven (and this morning, and today in the car), that they fit together physically as well.

Woah, that sounded dirty. Not like that!

He meant cuddling.

And now he was arguing with himself. He sighed. He was going insane.

Annabeth stirred and stretched up, smacking her mouth. Percy handed her a half-full bottle of water and she downed it in one.

"Someone's thirsty," he commented.

"Mmm… Yeah, for Andrew Garfield."

He shot her a look. "Stop. You're only supposed to find me attractive! I'm your boyfriend."

"Fine," she clipped. "Then no looking at Emma Watson."

"Oh my goodness, how could you? That's just cruel," he gasped in mock-horror.

"So is not letting me look at Andrew Garfield in a spandex suit." She crossed her arms and harrumph-ed.

He rolled his eyes.

"We should probably call Thalia now," Annabeth remarked, her upset facade melting away in a moment.

"We should…" He trailed off, unwilling. "Okay, you call her."

"I texted her about the thing with my mom, so she probably won't think this is surprising…" She dialled the number. Her fingers felt stiff and swollen from sleep.

Thalia picked up after three rings. "Hello, oh wise one," she said in greeting.

"Hey, you're on BluTooth," Annabeth replied.

"Okay. Is the nugget beside you?"

"Hey!" Percy exclaimed in surprise. "What the hell? Don't call me a nugget!"

"I'll call you what I want, Kelp-For-Brains," Thalia snipped in reply.

"No, you won't, Pinecone Face," he growled. He was grinning and Annabeth couldn't stop laughing.

"We actually have something to tell you, Thals. Enough with the banter," she said after a moment and few more not-so witty comments between Percy and Thalia.

"What? Have you and Kelp Head banged yet?"

"Not banged," Percy interjected. "Haven't gotten that far."

"I- WHAT?" she yelled. "You- Did you actually-?"

"Yes, Thalia," Annabeth sighed. "It is a thing now. And Percy is my… Boyfriend."

Oh man, she liked the way that sounded.

"Fucking hell, Anna-Banana-Beth. Didn't know you had it in you!" she laughed. "Oh man, I'm so happy for you guys, this is awesome!"

"Thanks," Percy called, grinning so hard he was sure his face would break.

"And you!" (Annabeth imagined her whirling around on a spiny chair.) "If you hurt Annabeth, I'll castrate you, and make you sing opera in Italy for the rest of your pathetic life."

"Yes ma'am," Percy laughed.

"And Annabeth! If you hurt Percy, intentionally, that is, I'll cut off your nipples with safety scissors."

"OH MY GOD!" Annabeth yelled, her whole body shaking with laughter. "You did not just say that!"

"I think I did," Thalia hummed. "Anyway, I have to go. I have work in two minutes and I need to shower and stuff."

"You're an idiot," Annabeth said fondly.

"I know, but my boss isn't going to fire me for being late. Only if I do something really stupid she'd fire me for," Thalia said. Annabeth could picture her shrugging nonchalantly and uncaring.

"Goodbye, Thalia," Percy said.

"See ya tomorrow, losers."

Annabeth thought of a witty retort, but Thalia had already hung up the phone on them.

"That went better than expected," Percy remarked.

"It did indeed."

/

The first time Annabeth saw New York City in person, she fell in love.

The skyline was peeking over the silhouettes of immense skyscrapers. The sky was painted the vibrant oranges and pink and purples and blues of sunset. Her breath left her body. She was in awe of the sheer beauty, of the architecture, of the honking of horns and dirty streets.

All thoughts of home left her body. She could barely envision California. Nothing compared to the dark buildings and bright sky of New York.

Percy smiled at her. Their hands were interlocked between them.

"What do you think?" he asked.

She grinned at him. "I love it."

"Can I kiss you now?"

"Seriously?"

/Epilogue/

Eight Years Later

After having lived in the same apartment that they first rented when moving to New York for their college years (a whole five of them), they decided it was high time to upgrade to something nicer and in a better location for their new 'adult' jobs.

The apartment had two bedrooms, one for the couple, and another they had converted into a study that they both used for their various projects. It was not uncommon to find Annabeth in there, working until sunrise of some building plans for her way-too-demanding boss. Sometimes she wouldn't leave for days and Percy would have to make sure she remembered to bathe and eat and generally do things humans needed to do to survive.

No. It wasn't that Percy was cooking that caught Annabeth's attention. What was out of the ordinary that evening was that he was cooking gnocchi, with what looked like asparagus and cream sauce. Her favourite food, and the exact dish Percy hated ("Gnocchi has a weird texture, and asparagus is just wrong!" "Honestly, Percy! Quit being so uncultured!").

"Hey," he called from the kitchen. It smelled like steamed vegetables and asiago cheese.

His apron that read 'Kiss the Cook' was spattered with various stains that has never come out in the wash, and his hair was unkempt and swept to one side, never failing to flop into his eyes even after he flipped it away.

"What's this?" Annabeth asked. She slipped out of her heeled pumps and restricting blazer, leaving her in only her white button-up and suit pants. She came up behind him and hugged him tightly. "Is it my birthday or something? Or did I forget our eight year, four months, and two days anniversary. Because if so, I'm sorry."

Percy laughed, though it seemed a little tense. "Yeah, no. You didn't forget anything." She pecked him on the neck and tightened her grip around him before letting go. "Can't I treat my beautiful girlfriend sometimes? Even if it is for no reason other than 'I love you'?"

Annabeth hummed to herself, a peaceful smile slipping onto her face. "I suppose that's acceptable."

"You suppose?"

"I suppose."

Annabeth touched his cheek and pecked his lips quickly. "Thank you, by the way. I know you kinda don't like gnocchi or asparagus, but this is absolutely lovely."

"Mmm…" Percy pondered, swallowing the nervous lump in his throat. "I'm pretty awesome, aren't I?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Just peachy. Okay, I'm going to die if I don't go change, like, right now. And I have some last-minute things I have to take care of for work. Call if you need help."

"Mmhm," Percy muttered, stirring the creamy sauce and adding more Asiago cheese.

The velvet box in his pocket suddenly felt a million times heavier. He;d had the ring for months now, going on six, and had never found the right time to ask.

Tonight, though. Tonight was the night. After trying to for months, he was actually going to ask. He'd practiced his speech a thousand times, and he had planned the night out to a 'T'.

He began murmuring it under his breath now, just to make sure he wouldn't forget.

"Annabeth, I love you. We've been together for eight years, and we've been friend for twenty. I want to be with you for another infinite. Marry me?"

He let out an anxious breath. He could do this.

Annabeth padded down the hall of their apartment, taking in the sight she had walked through so many times over the past three years. The walls were blue, soft and almost grey. Percy was adamant on having at least one part of the house painted blue. Annabeth let him have his way, but only if she could paint their office yellow, like the colour of egg yolks, bright and happy, against the three other grey walls.

She stripped out of her pantsuit, and yanked out the tight ponytail her hair was trapped in on the top of her head. She massaged her scalp, trying to rid herself of the feeling of a headache coming on.

She debated between jeans and sweatpants, before deciding on jeans as Percy was making a nice dinner. She threw on a sweater the colour of spring leaves and left hair down, frizzy and unbrushed.

Percy was just laying out the silverware and plates when she came back in. The pasta was plated nicely; the creamy sauce topping the gnocchi and asparagus stacked beside it, garnished with parsley.

"Wow," she breathed. "You really did go all out."

"Yeah," he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck the exact way he had eight years ago.

So many things had changed since they moved to New York. Percy had begun a successful career marine conservation, and Annabeth in architecture. Percy had gotten a little taller, and paler because of the gloomy New York climate. His hair was shorter, more mature, but it still feel stubbornly into his eyes. Annabeth had grown too, in a different way. Her face had lost some of its youth, making her look more professional and strict. Her face was thinner, and her cheekbones sharper. She looked striking. it was almost scary how much she resembled Athena.

"Thank you," she said, sitting down in the chair Percy had pulled out for her, the one closest to the wall.

"How was your day?" Percy asked. He had grabbed her wine glass and was filling it was a dark red wine. He placed it in front of her and began to fill his own glass.

She took a sip of the wine before answering. She swirled it around her glass, taking a whiff of the flavours. It tasted sweet and rich, like cherries, plums, and caramel. It was wonderful.

"It was good," she said. "This is amazing, by the way," she noted, motioning to the wine.

"Erm, thanks," he said. He was jiggling his leg under the table, and his eyes kept darting around the room.

"Are you nervous about something?" she asked.

He looked at her with wide eyes. "No. Why?" He answered too quickly.

"You just seem… Out of it," she said, taking another sip of the wine and a bite of the pasta. The sauce was cheesy and creamy, coating the potato pasta. She took another hasty bite.

"No, no, no. I'm just- I'm fine," he coughed, scarfing down a bite of gnocchi. He hardly even noticed the odd texture or the rich cheesy sauce. He was too wound up and everything tasted a little like cardboard.

Relax, Jackson, he told himself. You need to relax.

"So, what did you do today?" she asked.

"Well, you know, I had the day off, so I went grocery shopping-"

"Oh, is that why you are the fancy dinner?" she asked, popping a piece of asparagus into her mouth.

"Um, yeah…" he trailed off. "Right, yeah. That's about it, though. I watched those episodes of Bones you watched without me, though. That was rude."

She rolled her eyes. "Get over it. I was bored and you were asleep. I had to do something."

"You could have watched something else!" he protested.

She sighed. "I suppose. I wanted to know what was going to happen, though."

"You just want to watch me burn."

Annabeth threw her head back in laughter. Her shoulders shook so hard, they shook the table. Her face was red. She laughed with her whole body, and Percy couldn't help but feel like he was falling in love with her all over again.

She was so perfect. She was so incredibly perfect, it hurt. Her eyes were bright and her words passionate. Oh god, he loved her so much. He felt like his heart was going to burst because of it.

"This is really-"

"Marry me?" he blurted and immediately turned red. "Ah, fuck," he cursed.

"What?" Annabeth gaped.

"Fricking shit! I'm so sorry, Annabeth," he blubbered. "I had this amazing speech written out, and I was going to get down on one knee and everything. Oh god, I've been planning this for months and of course I just go and ruin it-"

"PERCY!" Annabeth yelled. He stopped talking immediately. She took a deep breath before answering. "Yes."

He stared at her wide-eyed. "Yes?"

"Yes, you complete and absolute idiot," she laughed, tears pricking her eyes.

He continued to stare at her with wide, shocked eyes.

"Are you going to give me the ring or am I going to have to buy myself one?" she asked, faking impatience.

"Right, yes, okay. The ring." He patted his jeans, panicked. "I cannot find the ring. Oh my god, I did not lose the ring. I refuse to have lost your engagement ring-"

"It's in your sweater pocket, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth laughed, pointing at the bulge in his sweater she had just managed to notice.

"Right," Percy blushed, laughing in spite of himself. "Good god." He pulled out the black velvet box and opened it.

The ring itself was simple, classic; a raw diamond resting atop a white gold band. It was very Annabeth; not too flashy, classic, and so incredibly perfect it hurt.

She tried not to cry, honestly she did. But as Percy fumbled with the ring and slid it onto her finger (it fit perfectly, which was nice), she felt tears begin to fall from her cheeks, and her cheeks began to hurt from smiling so hard.

She threw her arms around Percy, burrowing her face in his neck. The ring felt weird, heavy and out-of-place.

"I love you," she murmured. "I love you so much, dammit."

"I love you too," Percy said. His voice sounded thick, like he was crying too.

"Oh god, Seaweed Brain. Oh my god, you are such a dork," she laughed, pulling away and wiping her eyes and smudging her mascara.

"I know, I know I am. I am the biggest, luckiest dork on the planet," he said, mimicking her actions. His eyes were red, and he was smiling bigger than her, something she didn't know would be possible.

"You're also a sap," she laughed, pressing a kiss to his lips, quick and soft. They locked eyes after and began laughing.

"Okay, wow," Percy grinned.

"We are getting married," Annabeth said in disbelief. "That is a thing that is actually happening." She punched him in the shoulder.

"Ouch! Hey, what was that for?" Percy scowled, rubbing his bruised shoulder.

"For taking so damn long," Annabeth cried. "It only took you eight years. God."

"It seems to be a reoccurring theme, doesn't it?" he sighed.

Annabeth smiled at him, running her thumb along his arm in apology. "Yeah," she whispered. "It sure does."

**Author's Note:**

> hope you liked it. :) if you did, please leave me a comment or whatever.  
> thanks for reading!


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